


The Girl Who Didn’t Like Musicals

by ladeedadaday



Category: The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: After Apotheosis, Angst, Cheating, F/F, F/M, Fluff, High School Musical - Freeform, I forgot about the dog, If Emma survived, Marriage, Pain, This is pre-editing draft, hard work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:40:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21528469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladeedadaday/pseuds/ladeedadaday
Summary: This is what happened after the ‘end’ of the Hatchetfield catastrophe. A meteor crashed into the Starlight Theater in Hatchetfield, bringing deadly spores with it. Anyone who got near it soon became infected and would start singing and dancing as if in a musical. There was one citizen of Hatchetfield, Paul, who didn't like musicals. Watching people sing and dance made him very uncomfortable, so you could imagine how uncomfortable he was when faced with this singing apocalypse. Paul, along with his friends Emma, Ted, Charlotte, and Bill tried to fight off this evil. They teamed up with Emma’s insane biology professor, and they lost people to this apocalypse along the way. They lost Charlotte, then Bill, then Professor Hidgens, Paul, and then Emma. Or… did they? No, we never really lost Emma, it was just the way the story was explained to the public. Emma Perkins didn't die, on the contrary, she survived and would live to tell the tale.
Relationships: Alice/Deb, Bill/Jane Fisher, Charlotte/Melissa - Relationship, Henry Hidgens & Emma Perkins, Henry Hidgens & Ted, Jane Fisher/Emma Perkins, Paul Matthews/Emma Perkins
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	1. Prologue

According to Colonel Schaffer, all of Hatchetfield had been destroyed. Great. She now owned absolutely nothing. Life was just peachy. But when they went over the bridge, (which was luckily lowered again,) she found that that was not the case at all. The town looked tinted blue, but it was still the same old Hatchetfield that she had grown up in and learned to hate. At least she didn’t die there. She’s got that one thing going for her. 

For now. 


	2. Getting Into A Stranger’s Car

They grabbed Emma by her arms. She kicked them and screamed for help, but she couldn’t get away. Eventually, she gave up. 

She looked helplessly at her friends, former coworkers, and everyone else surrounding her. Although they were blurry through her tears, she could see them grinning evilly at her. She let out one whimper, and in unison, the monsters all began to laugh at her. It had an almost musical ring to it. She was going crazy. She was driving herself insane. Her fear alone could kill her. Emma was laughing, too. Laughing along with them. Great. This was how she’d spend her last minutes alive. Emma was not laughing at herself, no. She was laughing because she was going to be part of a musical. This was  _ definitely  _ how she wanted to spend the rest of her life. Here she was, her back facing to the ground. There was absolutely no way that she could get out of it. 

As she let out one last shriek, facing her  **inevitable** death, she had one final thought.  _ You know what? I’ll finally be with Paul again. _ She bitterly thought, squeezing her eyes shut in pain as not-Ted started to slap her.  __

The infected-alien-singing-zombie things reached their arms towards her, and as she braced herself to die, she heard six bodies drop to the ground with several loud thuds. 

A girl, about the same age as Emma, stepped over the bodies with both of her hands lowered to her side. Emma was slightly appalled and still recovering from shock. 

“T-thanks.” She stuttered, stunned. The girl offered Emma her hand, which she took, and the girl used all of her strength to pull her back to her feet. The girl broke her expression to give Emma a small smile, but quickly morphed back to the determined and focused look she has been wearing before. Silently, the girl led Emma behind a dumpster where they hid as Paul searched while singing to them.

“ _ You can run, Emma, but you can’t hide yourself from me _ .” He sang, causing Emma to push her hand over her mouth to sob to herself, silently. 

The girl put a caring hand on Emma’s shoulder, trying to silently comfort her. “You really cared about him, didn’t you?” The girl, whose name she’d find out soon, asked. Emma nodded. “I think if there’s any chance he isn’t completely gone, kissing him will tell you. If he doesn’t kiss you back, he’s gone, and you will knock him out.” She said, handing her a bar of metal. 

“I’ll do it.” Emma said, solemnly. “I’ll do it.” She repeated, the more confidently this time. Holding the weapon to her side, she walked to Paul, and wrapped her arms around him. Reaching up to make herself as tall as possible, she placed her lips on his. She began to cry when nothing happened from him to her. 

“No...” she cried. She lifted the metal and hit him. The last good thing she could remember about Paul was him helping her after the helicopter crash. She spat blood in his face. That was the last thing she had done with him. The last thing she done with him while he was hers. 

_ I never got to say goodbye. I never even said goodbye to him!  _ She thought, overcome with anger and sadness. She just had to have killed him didn’t she? It had to be her. It couldn’t have been Miss. What’s-her-name, no, it had to be her. As Paul’s body dropped to the ground with a blank expression, Emma dropped to her knees. All you would’ve heard walking through the alleyway would be sobs. Emma’s sobs made the girl tear up and feel awful, as if she had just lost someone who she’d had a connection to as well. 

“Oh my goodness!” The girl called, rushing over to comfort the small, shaking figure that was in front of her. “You’ll be okay, alright? I’m here, and I don’t plan to leave anytime soon.” 

Emma stumbled away from the bodies with the girl now holding her arm. She gestured for Emma to get in the passenger side of the car they were now approaching. 

***

“Thank you.” Emma whispered, opening the door and hopping in the passenger side. 

“I’m Jane, by the way.” Jane watched Emma’s face fall. “Are-are you okay…?” 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. It’s just… my sister, uh, Jane. She, uh, died in a, um, car… car crash. She was the good one.” 

“And you’re…?” Jane asked, unable to find the words. 

“I don’t know. It’s kinda what I’m trying to figure out. I mean, a day ago, I was a barista at Beanies, but clearly I’m not anymore.” Emma laughed under her breath, this time at herself. 

“Beanies? Wait! Emma?” Jane’s face lit up with realization. 

“Yes! But, how do you know me? How do you remember me?” Emma asked, bewildered. 

“First of all, it wasn’t that long ago,” Jane said, shrugging. Emma took notice that Jane’s car was incredibly neat. Emma’s car, however, did not exist. She had been reluctant to keep driving after her sister died in a car crash. She became immensely paranoid whenever in a car, and only ever was transported in one if it was absolutely required. 

Hatchetfield was really small, so Emma’s choice to walk didn’t affect her too badly. Emma could walk to her college, work, pretty much anywhere she wanted. She could even walk to the airport to travel. 

Unfortunately, she probably wouldn’t be doing much more traveling, even if she made it out alive. Her leg was still burning from the crash, and she had absolutely no idea when or if it would get better. 

Even if her leg did get better and she did survive this horrible catastrophe, Emma would probably never travel again in fear that she’d lose someone else. Not that she had anyone left, anyway. It was sad for her to think about. She’d lost her parents, her sister, Paul, Hidgens… everyone she cared for. Come to think of it, she didn’t really know anyone outside of Hatchetfield. No one in Guatemala, because she always kept to herself there, and she’d never really been anywhere else. 

She let out an audible groan. Jane had been looking at her this whole time.  _ Oops,  _ Emma thought, cheeks turning a noticeable shade of red. “Emma? Hello? You okay?” 

Emma nodded, looking at Jane’s blue eyes, pale skin, and jet black hair. Jane was really pretty.  _ Wait, no, don’t do that.  _ Emma internally yelled at herself.  _ You can’t be falling for someone. Not now. Not right now, you’re not ready.  _ Emma was always aware of her sexuality. 

“Alright, you can stop staring.” Jane teased, waving her hand in front of Emma’s face, trying to gain her attention. 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry I didn’t even realize, I just zoned out for a minute and then I guess I couldn’t stop and-- ” Emma started rambling, a blush creeping up to her cheeks once again. 

“It’s fine Emma. I wore my nice black sweatshirt today.” Jane said jokingly. Emma pouted. 

“Don’t tease me,” She whined, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “This is a real situation and I don’t appreciate your lack of concern right now.” Jane just laughed and gestured for Emma to put on her seatbelt while she made a quick phone call. Jane dialed 3-1-1 and said she needed to talk to P.E.I.P. Emma could hear a grumble over the phone as she clicked her seatbelt into the buckle. It almost made her laugh so she bit her tongue and suppressed a giggle.

“So, I’m in a car with one of— the only survivor of the Hatchetfield catastrophe, and I was wondering, would it be legal to take stuff from stores in Hatchetfield?” 

Emma couldn’t exactly hear the response, it was just a lot of grumbling, but when Jane said, “Thank you,” Emma assumed something had gone well. “Alright,” She said, hands on the steering wheel, “Let’s go back to Hatchetfield.” Emma groaned loudly and rolled her eyes, but the look she got from Jane suggested that she button her lip and roll with it. 

According to Colonel Schaffer, all of Hatchetfield had been destroyed. Great. She now owned absolutely nothing. Life was just peachy. But when they went over the bridge, (which was luckily lowered again,) she found that that was not the case at all. The town was almost tinted blue, but it was still the same old Hatchetfield that she had grown up in and learned to hate. At least she didn’t die there. She’s got that one thing going for her. 

Jane decided to stop at her apartment, collecting her things and stuffing them into a small suitcase which looked like something a child would carry or a prop in a music— a play. In a play. Jane had a lot more stuff than Emma did. She stuffed some clothes, a blanket, a pillow, some food, some water, and some things that she clearly, (judging by how she stepped in front of them,) didn’t want Emma to see. Much like her sister, she had everything put together and in control, unlike Emma did. 

When they entered Emma’s apartment, she could fit everything she needed into a backpack and her suitcase, which was more reasonably sized for an adult, left over from her travels. Working at the minimum wage job that she was, she didn’t own much, but she had to make it work. Emma was happy with her life, her job, (most of the time,) and with the people in her life. So why did she always feel so incomplete? Was it the fact that throughout her time working at Beanies, she had received many rude notes from customers and her coworkers? Was it that no one cared for her? Was it how her only friend was her insane, wacky, probably gay biology professor?

“Emma, stop reminiscing and hurry up.” Jane said, an impatient tone in her voice.

“Jeez,” Emma threw up her hands in surrender. Jane rolled her eyes and grinned. She gestured for Emma to grab her stuff but then—

“Wait. Do you want help? Your leg doesn’t look too great…” Jane trailed off, rushing to pick up Emma’s suitcase in addition to her own. Emma just shook her head. She, with difficulty, pulled the suitcase out of Jane’s hands and walked to the door, waiting for Jane to use her free hand and open it. Jane finally gave in to Emma’s stubborn ways and followed her to the door. 

They stood there in silence for an awkward moment. Jane could feel the red blush creeping into her cheeks the longer she looked at Emma. Breaking the silence, Emma tapped her foot impatiently and looked toward the door. Jane snapped back into complete consciousness of the situation.  _ What’s wrong with Emma? Why won’t she talk? It’s really not a huge deal.  _

“You could’ve just said something.” Jane responded indignantly, scrunching up her nose. 

_ Okay, that’s cute...  _ Emma thought.  _ But I’m still annoyed.  _ Emma stuck her bottom lip out and pouted.  _ I won’t give up that easily.  _ Emma waited for Jane to open the door for her. Jane made her wait another few minutes on her feet, just to give her pain in her leg, then flung the door open. Emma glared at Jane over her shoulder while leaving the apartment. 

As soon as they made it to the car, Jane pushed open the trunk and shoved the bags in. Emma almost fell into the passenger seat. She suddenly became aware of how completely exhausted she was.  _ Yep, getting almost murdered by your boyfrie— Paul, would do that to you. _ Without a chance to control herself, she was thinking about how bad her mental health had gotten and would become. She was always so paranoid and anxious. Even crossing the street. Especially crossing the street. She would have to walk with someone in the fear that someone else would end up attacking her on her way home. She lived two blocks away from Beanies, yet the distance made all the difference.  _ I’m glad I survived, I am.  _ She tried to convince herself, but the evil voice that she’d tried to get rid of countless times just kept coming back and saying,  _ ‘Emma, think about it. Did you really want to survive this? Don’t you want to be with Paul? You love him, don’t you?’  _ That voice was her enemy. No matter how hard she tried to get rid of it, that demon would always be stuck with her. The only way it would leave Emma is if Emma left herself, and she’d never let that happen. She’d at least  **try** . Emma would never be able to listen to musicals again. If she ever went back to college, she’d avoid biology at all costs. She’d never work at a coffee shop. And she would never,  _ ever,  _ fall for someone as fast as she fell for Paul. Emma made a promise to herself. Oh, if only she knew how soon she’d break it. 

Breathing heavily, she shut her eyes, telling herself that it was only for a few minutes. When she woke up— she was actually shaken awake by Jane— Emma still felt exhausted. She rubbed her eyes and could just make out the supermarket. Usually busy and full of people, it was completely deserted. It put Emma on edge, like most things now did. 

“Okay.” Jane breathed in carefully, as if the air would infect her. “Let’s rob some stores. Legally.” 

Emma stood still for a second. “Alright, I’m into it.” 

As Emma struggled to catch up with Jane, who was running into the store, Emma had a thought.  _ Maybe she’s not that bad after all.  _ Jane was giggling, hair flowing behind her in the light breeze. 

“Wait up!” Emma called after Jane. In that moment, she felt happy. She felt safe for one minute. She cherished that moment, because after that, feeling safe was rare. 

Rushing through the doors and being startled by the bell that rang was something that she’d have to get used to. Emma limped around the store while Jane followed just to make sure she didn’t fall and hurt her leg again. Jane pulled a cart along. 

“Why don’t you ride in the cart?” Jane teased as Emma complained about her leg again. Emma turned around and looked dead serious. 

“I want to, but I’m too heavy.” She sighed. The pain from her leg was really starting to bother her. They moved on from that conversation, making a silent agreement to forget about it. They pulled insulating blankets, extra food, utensils, new toothbrushes and toothpaste, mouthwash, and hairbrushes off the shelves and into their cart. Before leaving, they emptied out every single cash register in the supermarket, and left with about 2,000 dollars in cash.

“That was very worth it.” Emma said, as she helped Jane pile groceries into the trunk along with their luggage.  _ Tight fit, _ they both thought. While they slid into the car, Emma asked, “Is it illegal to do that at the bank, too?”

Jane smirked. “Not in Hatchetfield,” They giggled. Jane drove Emma to the bank and somehow managed to short circuit the lock to the vault. They took a considerate amount, but Emma’s guilt got in the way and they stopped taking anything else. The girls left a good amount in the bank, just in case of the unlikely scenario that someone came back to try and make sense of what happened to the town. 

They left Hatchetfield that day with $52,000. 

“I feel kinda bad for doing this.” Emma said, starting to bite the nail on her index finger. Jane didn’t say anything to comfort her. She simply put her hand on Emma’s shoulder,and even though it was something so small, it meant a lot. 

“Emma, let’s go home.” 


	3. Emma’s Lazy

For their for their survival of the apotheosis, Emma and Jane were rewarded with an apartment by P.E.I.P. 

Soon after settling into her new home, Emma started suffering from anxiety attacks and bad nightmares. She’d wake up in a cold sweat, or tears, or screaming. Most of her dreams included Paul. She swore she could feel him touching her. Little did she know, that was Jane trying to shake her awake. In the first month post-apotheosis, she had heard ‘Inevitable,’ more times than she ever imagined she would’ve had to. 

Jane tried to distract her by talking to her, but then she got Emma talking about her past life, and Emma would start to cry. One time, the conversation went like this: 

“Do you remember me ever coming into Beanies?” Jane had asked. 

“I’ll be honest, I don’t remember anyone who’s not important. Like, I remember Hidgens, cause he was my biology professor and he—!” She slapped a hand over her mouth as she realized what she was saying. Tears swam in her eyes, threatening to spill over. Emma was determined to not let them, but she didn’t get much of a choice this time. Tears streaked her face as she desperately reached for a tissue. 

“Emma, why are you—?” 

“I’m sorry!” She shrieked, “I’m so sorry, I promise I won’t do it again!” Jane placed a hand on Emma’s arm. She flinched. “Please don’t hurt me…” Emma whimpered. It broke Jane’s heart. 

“Emma, I would never hurt you, I never will.” Jane said.

This wasn’t new. Jane didn’t know how to help. She didn’t know what was going on. To her, this was positively terrifying. The worst part was that Emma became just a shell of the Emma everyone loved. She hardly ever spoke. She didn’t move unless it was absolutely necessary. She slept until Jane came home from work. She only whispered to Jane. Emma did not like company. She got anxious around new people and was too afraid to be touched by anyone but Jane. Jane taught Emma simple sign language so that she didn’t have to talk if she wasn’t up for it. Otherwise, Emma kept a notebook and a pencil next to the couch or the bed she slept on. 

Emma never told Jane how useless and pathetic she felt. Emma never told Jane that she just wanted to be herself again. 

“Jane?” Emma asked weakly, hearing the front door creak open. 

“I’m here!” Jane said, rushing over to Emma as quick as possible. She thought Emma was getting scared again, so she started to comb her fingers through her hair and runs her fingers along the back of Emma’s warm hand. 

“I’m okay,” Relief visibly flooded into Jane's face. “I just wish I could do something other than sit here and be pathetic.”

“Emma, you will never be pathetic.” Emma shot Jane a pointed look with eyebrows raised. “But… if you really feel like that… I’ll help you. I promise, you will get better, it’s just going to take some time.”

“I can wait.” Jane forced a smile. Emma closed her eyes and fell asleep after a few minutes. Jane left her side, and opened up a new tab on her work computer in the kitchen. She spent the next thirty minutes searching around the internet to find something for Emma. Her eyes darted madly around the screen when her gaze landed upon one particular website.

“It’s perfect,” She breathed. 

***

The next day, Jane came home an hour late from work. When she arrived, she was not greeted by the sight of Emma on the couch. Emma was not on the couch.  _ Maybe she’s in bed?  _ Jane thought, still a tad shocked. Jane could hear footsteps.  _ No, that’s not right.  _ She tried to follow the source, even through her panic. The footsteps were coming from the kitchen. When Jane arrived there, to her disbelief, she saw Emma cooking.

Jane almost dropped the crate she was holding. Her eyes widened and she rushed to their empty room and set the crate down gently. She tiptoed back into the kitchen and shouted, “Emma Perkins,  _ what are you thinking?!” _ Emma dropped a pan, startling herself. Her hand immediately flew to her heart. She’d been so wrapped up in her cooking, she had no idea that Jane was home, or why she had just been yelled at. “Oh no, no, no, no, no…” Jane whispered, realizing what she had just done. Jane stepped closer and held Emma’s free hand. Emma pulled away. 

“Jane, you scared me,” Emma stated, her heart rate starting to return to normal. 

“No,  _ you  _ scared  _ me _ !” Jane said. “What were you doing?”

“I was just cooking.” Emma turned away and limped to the counter next to the oven. She slid on a pair of oven mitts and bent down to take the cookies out of the oven. Setting the cookies on the counter top, Emma slid off the oven mitts and stirred the pot of soup on the stove. 

“A week ago you couldn’t even walk! How are you doing this right now?” Jane asked, in complete shock at how fluently Emma was moving about the kitchen. 

“I don’t know, I’m not a doctor. Maybe I just didn’t feel like being useless anymore.” She shrugged and busied herself with her cooking once again.

“I’ve said it before, and I will say it again: You were never useless.” Jane said, heading back to the other room. She carried the crate to the kitchen and set it down in front of Emma. Emma just gave her a questioning look and returned to her cooking until Jane opened the crate and a little brown dog came out. 

Emma’s jaw dropped. “Aww! So cute!” She squealed as she bent down to let the dog lick her hand. 

“I knew you’d love him.” Apparently, he was good for people who were suffering from PTSD, which Emma most definitely was. “Now you can have someone who can’t hurt you with you while I’m at work.” 

“Jane?” Emma whimpered. “Do-- Do you think I’ll ever get over this?” Her voice broke. 

Jane wanted more than anything to tell Emma that she would be fine, but she couldn’t. “I think so. I hope so.”  _ What am I saying? Tell her she’ll be okay, you idiot.  _

Emma didn’t respond. She got up and poured some soup into a bowl for herself, took a few warm cookies from the pan and left. 

Jane sat down at the kitchen table, put her head in her hands and let herself sob. She had offended and hurt Emma. She promised that Emma would never be hurt again. Hadn’t Emma gone through enough? 

***

The next morning, Jane woke up to Emma cooking pancakes and brewing coffee. Emma took her food and left, not greeting Jane or looking back. Jane had to serve herself. The coffee was amazing. 

“Emma, how is this coffee so good?” Jane asked, bewildered.

“You’re forgetting that I was a barista at a coffee shop for three years.” Emma replied, snarkily. 

***

Emma had been giving Jane the cold shoulder all week, on a number of literal and figurative levels. Emma would steal all of the blankets, hide them, and use them for herself. She also stopped talking to Jane, and pretty much in general. Emma would talk to their dog, which practically became her dog. He wouldn’t leave her side. 

“Are you going to keep ignoring me?” No response. “Really, Emma?” Again, she got no response. Emma simply walked away, the small dog following behind.

“I’m trying. I really am,” Emma whispered, settling onto the couch, a puppy in her lap. “But it’s hard. She doesn’t think that I can get better.” The dog whined. There were tears clouding her vision, and as she set the dog next to her, she felt lightheaded. Jane heard a thud. Emma had fainted, hit her head, and then fallen off the couch and was now sprawled out across the floor.

“Emma? EMMA!” Jane yelled, dashing into the living room. She kneeled at her side. “Oh no… please,  _ please _ wake up…” Jane dropped her voice to a whisper. “Emma, if you don’t wake up, I'm going to…” She paused threateningly, to no effect. “...please, Emma?” She waited. 

And waited.

And waited.   
  


Emma didn’t wake up. 


	4. I’m Not Kelly

The first thing she heard when she woke up was the beeping of a heart monitor. When she opened her eyes, she saw bright white lights and a man staring down at her with worry painted on his face. She groaned and wanted to talk, but she still wasn’t used to it. 

“Don’t try to talk.” He said, sternly. “You’ve been silent for awhile. Your voice isn’t ready yet.” She nodded in response. 

“Oh, good, she’s awake.” Jane grinned. Emma grabbed her phone and started to text Jane. 

——————————————————————

‘What happened?’ Emma typed. 

“You passed out.” Jane responded, verbally.

‘The last thing I remember is talking to the dog and feeling like I was gonna cry.’ Emma typed, quickly. 

“I’m sorry. I know what I said, and I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean any of it.” Emma closed her eyes and nodded. 

‘I know you didn’t.’ Emma responded. Jane smiled down at her phone and Emma caught a glimpse of her contact on Jane’s phone. (Emma <3) She snickered to herself.

“What was that?” Emma didn’t type a message back. Jane gave her a stern look. “You know I don’t like snickers.” 

‘Sorry,’ Emma sent with an eye roll emoji. 

“Yep, you’re still Emma.” Jane teased, smirking. 

‘If I wasn’t confined to this bed I would punch you with no regrets.’ Emma typed angrily. 

“I know. That’s what makes it feel so great.” Jane taunted. Emma flared her nostrils and glared. The doctor, Steve, his nametag read, decided to intervene. 

“Ms. Kelly, are you hungry?” The doctor spoke nervously, as if not to anger her. 

As if on cue, her stomach grumbled. She cleared her throat before responding, and then whispered, “I am, but that's not my name.”

The doctor was confused, “Your name is Kelly, isn't it?” 

“No, it’s not. My name is Emma. It will always be Emma.” She insisted, realizing her voice was coming back. “One more thing, I'm allergic to peanuts.” 

The doctor nodded and left. 

“Emma, I have to tell you this right now. You have no idea how much you mean to me. You are my best friend, and I will do anything to help you, okay?” Emma wasn't used to this. She had no idea what to say. 

“I guess I thought that you were going to—.” 

“Leave you there?” Emma nodded. “If I had, I’d be a horrible person.” Emma opened her mouth to say something, but Jane stopped her with, “Shh, rest your voice.” She poured and rolled her eyes. They sat in absolute silence as Jane combed through Emma’s long, brown hair with her fingers. Jane started humming. She smiled when Emma didn't get scared like she thought she would. 

It eventually became Jane singing a few notes, and Emma wasn't scared. She was getting better, although she could see that Emma was becoming uncomfortable.  _ Good enough for today.  _ Jane decided. She'd pushed Emma really far. 

The doctor walked in with a tray of food which he set down on Jane’s lap. “Excuse me?!” She half-shouted. Jane stuffed some food into Emma’s mouth to quiet her down. “Thank you, ” she said, muffled. ”But I can feed myself.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but visiting hours are over.” The doctor said, checking his watch. 

“Bye, Em.” Jane waved as she was escorted out by the doctor. 

Once Jane left, she asked the doctor, ”When can I leave?” 

“Tonight. Do you need someone to come and pick you up?” He asked and Emma nodded. She picked up her phone. Almost everyone in her contacts was dead. Paul, Bill, Charlotte, (they’d given each other their numbers before they parted ways,) Zoey, Nora, her sister Jane, and her parents. If only she could have convinced them to move! 

She missed her mom and dad, but she missed her sister even more than anything. Her mind blanked for a second and she forgot what she was doing. She called Jane, “Jane? Can you pick me up tonight?”

“Tonight? Really? Of course!” Jane said, her voice muffled. “See you tonight.” 

“Love you.” Emma said, weakly. She hung up the phone before Jane could say anything about it. She started humming and scrolling through her phone to entertain herself. Soon, after checking on her bad leg again, he left but returned quickly with some papers that Emma guessed were about her. 

“So, while you’re here, I have something that I need to discuss with you. First, I want you to know exactly what you’re dealing with. You have PTSD and panic disorder.”

Emma raised her eyebrows. “And some sort of anxiety, too, right?” 

“Correct. Generalized anxiety disorder to be specific.” He said. “Some of these things are things that will not go away, but we can help you in making them better. It seems as your girlfriend told me—.” 

“What?! Girlfriend?!” Emma was oblivious to how obvious it was. The doctor looked shocked at her outburst, and at how wrong he was. 

“Oh! Sorry… I— just thought because of how close you are. And— um, well, the way that she looks at your practically gives it away.” He said, stumbling over his words. Emma just stared at him with a dumbfounded look on her face. “Anyway, there are some people waiting outside to talk to you. Meet Mr. Davidson, and Colonel Schaffer.”

“Oh! I know Colonel Schaffer! But you said visiting hours were…?” 

“Hello, Kelly.” Colonel Schaffer said, sternly. Emma rolled her eyes. 

“It’s Emma. It will always be Emma.” She insisted for the final time. 

“Fine.” Mr. Davidson approached Emma on the bed. “We have some questions for you, and they’re probably going to be hard to answer, but we need you to try, okay?” Emma nodded in response. “Firstly, how are you still alive?”

“A girl named Jane fought off the things that were about to kill me. Sorry, infect me. Nope. Kill me,  _ then  _ infect me. She got rid of 6 and then I had to get rid of the last one.” She winced at the fact that she had killed Paul. 

“How did these people get their hold on you?” He asked, furiously scribbling down notes. 

“Well when I was released from the hospital for my leg, Colonel Schaffer told me that I was being escorted to Colorado by ‘A Mr. Ben Bridges.’ He was actually Paul, the guy who destroyed the meteor, but he was infected. They all kind of came out of nowhere, maybe other rooms, and they started singing. I tried to run away, but it was more like quickly walking, because my leg was not even close to healed. I managed to make it to an alleyway near the hospital. By the time they had started punching me, I couldn’t really do anything but scream. No one really listened because I was probably too quiet and screams are normal in a hospital. I don’t know how or why Jane was there, but she was, and she saved my life.” Emma finished. The room was quiet. The only noise was the beeping of the heart monitor and the sound of pencil scratching against paper. He cleared his throat.

“Alright. What were you doing before this whole thing started?” He asked. That was kind of a personal question that she was a bit scared to answer. 

“Well… I used to work at a coffee shop, Beanies. My friend Paul came in and told me that the world was becoming a musical. I didn’t think about the implications at first, but eventually, I thought about it and got pretty scared. We went to my old biology professor’s house because he’s been preparing for the apocalypse for 27 years or something. I had no idea where else to go. He apparently had written a musical and he injected something in my neck that knocked me out and when I woke I was tied to a chair. He shut down everything protecting us and did some sort of weird villain-like monologue. Then he sang a song with a weirdly choreographed dance and encouraged two infected people to infect him.” She explained. She tried to go on, but she got too emotional and they didn’t make her continue. 

“What was this man’s name?” Mr. Davidson asked.

“Henry Hidgens.” She answered simply. 

He nodded. “Ah, Henry, he’s a real nutcase. What was your relationship with this ‘Paul’ character?” 

“Um… well, I don’t know. We’re friends… but I think there’s something more. I’d like there to be.” She paused. “I...I want there to be.” 

“And your relationship with this Jane person?” Colonel Schaffer asked. 

“We’re friends. And we live together, so…” She stuttered. 

Mr. Davidson cut her off. “Undetermined.” 

“This is kind of off-topic, but why did I not get scared when Jane started to sing to me?” She asked, hesitantly. The doctor gave her a questioning look. 

“Why would you be?” 

“Like you told me, normally I’d have a panic attack whenever I hear music.” Emma carefully explained. 

“Maybe you’re getting over it? It’s been a month.” The doctor suggested. 

“Or…” Colonel Schaffer came to a moment of realization. “Her connection to Jane!” 

The doctor almost fell over. “What?” Emma asked, having no idea what was going on. They were talking about her, after all.

“Quick, someone play music!” Mr. Davidson demanded. The music started and she started to get scared. Emma was still able to handle it. 

“I don’t believe it. It’s both! Her connection to Jane is… wow… This is good!” He exclaimed. “Do you know what that means?” 

“No. I have no idea…” 

“She cares about you, and you’re getting better.” 

‘‘That’s not going to be weird…” She said, trying to free up the tension. The doctor just gave her an awkward smile and a nervous laugh. 

“Very funny, I know. I should have been a comedian.” She joked, sarcastically. 

***

That night, she was released. 

“You can go back to your life now,” The doctor said, helping Emma into Jane’s car, per request of the nurse who had earlier looked at Emma’s ‘healing’ leg. Jane greeted Emma with a warm hug as if she’d been gone for years, when it had really only been a few hours. 

“I missed you,” Jane said, pulling herself apart from Emma, who felt as if she couldn’t breathe. 

“It was only a few hours.” Emma responded, grinning. 

Jane shrugged. “I missed you anyway.” They drove home in complete silence. 

Once they got to their apartment, Emma smelled food and, despite her bad leg, ran to the kitchen. “You made cake?” Jane heard Emma shout, “Thank you so much, I’m starving!” Jane rolled her eyes. Emma had only eaten a few hours ago, hadn’t she? 

“You ate two hours ago. How are you so hungry?” Jane said, a stern expression displayed on her face. 

All Emma did was pouted and whined, “That’s the problem!” She argued. Jane rolled her eyes. You didn’t argue with Emma when she was hungry, that’s for sure. 

“Emma, I’ll be honest, I have no idea how you stay that skinny. I mean, all you do is sit on the couch and eat.”

“Lies!” Emma yelled, playfully shoving Jane. “I watch TV, too!” 

“Fine, Lazy.” Jane teased. Emma scowled at the new nickname. 

“You just teased the wrong woman.” Emma shouted, tackling Jane and completely ignoring the pain in her leg. 

Jane made a small whimper-like noise so Emma figured the best way to resolve that was to start tickling her. While laughing, she shrieked, “Emma, stop it! You know how ticklish I am!” Emma couldn’t help it. She broke into a fit of giggles, too. Neither girl could stop giggling. They breathed heavily, trying to calm down, but once Jane looked at Emma she burst into tears of laughter. They were both  _ so happy _ . 

They were both finally calm, and Jane pulled Emma off the ground after standing up herself. 

“You’re cute sometimes,” Jane blurted out. 

“What?” She asked, pretending as if she hadn’t heard what Jane was saying.

“You’re not fooling me, shortie. I won’t say it again.” Jane was catching on.

Emma suddenly got quite angry, and Jane couldn’t seem to put her finger on why. “Excuse me?  _ What did you just call me?!”  _ Now she was really mad. Steam was practically pouring from her ears as she glared at Jane, chest rising and falling rapidly so that Jane was almost certain she was hyperventilating. 

She held her hands up in surrender. “Alright, sorry.” Emma didn’t seem to want to give in.

“Fine.” 

“Love you.” Jane said, jokingly, yet seriously at the same time. She really hoped Emma would realize. 

“Love you, too.” Emma said, giving her a sarcastic grin. Jane leaned in and kissed Emma on the cheek, much to both of their surprises. Emma could feel her cheek begin to tingle. It was a good feeling, although odd. She was blushing profusely, she could tell. “So, Jane… I think want to get a job.” 

Jane nodded. “Then let’s get you a job.” 

***

They searched almost all night online for jobs that Emma actually qualified for. She got an interview at two jobs. The first was at a coffee shop. 

When she limped in, she grimaced at how much it reminded her of Beanies. The manager, or at least who she assumed was the manager, eagerly ran over to her. “Hi, I’m Emma... “ She reached out her hand and the manager shook it. “Emma Perkins.” 

“Hello!” The manager greeted cheerfully. 

After the interview, Emma drove herself home. She had been getting through a lot recently, and was even able to drive again, especially since her license had been restored since she was no longer legally dead. 

Once she was home, Jane immediately approached her with the question as she shoved her down onto the couch, “How did it go?” 

“Great! She looked really interested, but I’m thinking it might be because I survived an apocalypse…” Emma said, voice getting softer with each dawning realization. 

“Hmm… Maybe.” Jane shrugged. “I think you probably did fine anyway.”

“When’s the next interview?” Emma asked, somehow having already forgotten. 

“Friday.” She wrapped her arms around Emma’s waist, from the back to her front. Emma let her head fall back on Jane’s shoulder. “I missed being able to do this.”    
“It’s hard to do something like this when I’m hospitalized or unconscious.” Emma joked.

“I’m not even gonna lie, that’s the only reason I wanted you out of the hospital.” Jane teased. 

“How dare you! If you were to end up in the hospital, I’d want you out just because you were in the hospital to begin with!” Emma retorted, trying to make Jane feel guilty. 

“Yeah, but admit it, you’d miss this.” 

“Fine, you win.” Emma gave in. They stayed the same way for almost half an hour, and by that point Emma was almost asleep. Jane was stuck. Emma was going to wake up if Jane moved. 

Eventually, Jane fell asleep, too. 

When they woke up the next morning, Emma was having trouble remembering what happened last night. She didn’t know why her waist was being embraced by Jane’s arms, why she was sleeping on top of Jane, or how they had managed to fall asleep together on their very uncomfortable couch. 

“Jane? Wake up.” She said, attempting to shake Jane awake. 

Jane forced her heavy eyelids open, being almost blinded by the light streaming into the room. “What time is it?” She mumbled. 

“About 8,” Emma answered, looking at the clock. 

“I’m going to be late for work!” Jane yelled, suddenly perking up. 

Emma was still waking up, but she had enough sense to remember that, “It’s Friday and you don’t work on Fridays.” Jane nodded. 

“Don’t you have your interview today?” She drowsily asked.

“Yeah, but it doesn’t start until one.” Emma answered. “I’m gonna go make breakfast.” Emma hopped off of the couch and almost skipped to the kitchen. She made oatmeal and put some cinnamon in it for Jane, leaving her own plain. 

Jane could smell oatmeal so she came lurking into the kitchen, Emma smiled at how pathetic Jane looked when she was tired. 

“You look really tired and pathetic.” Emma bluntly pointed.

“I always do, don’t I?” Jane said. 

“First of all, you can’t fish for compliments. Second, you remind me of one of my coworkers, Zoey, she would always tease me when Paul came in and--” She stopped herself, choking back a sob. “Nevermind.” She said, weakly. 

“It’s okay. Just go get dressed for your interview.” Jane whispered. 

Emma slipped on a nice pair of black leggings and put on a white button up blouse that probably belonged to Jane, which she put a black blazer (also Jane’s) over. 

Walking into the kitchen, Jane greeted her with, “You look good.” 

“Obviously,” Emma said, smirking. 

“Stop lying to yourself.” Jane taunted. Emma gave Jane the look. “Okay, okay, fine.” She said, holding up her hands to show a sign of surrender. 

Emma checked the time on her phone. “I have to go now.” She announced. 

“Bye!” She said as Emma left. 

“Seriously, how did the time fly so quickly?” Emma mumbled to herself, stepping into the elevator of their apartment. She hummed a tune to herself to pass the time in the elevator. “Well would you look at that?” She giggled. 

She walked out of the lobby to her car, and drove to the supermarket.

When she finally arrived at the supermarket, she looked for the manager. He waved her over, and she introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Emma Perkins.” She shook his hand. 

“You’re here for the interview?” He asked with a puzzled look on his face. She nodded, grinning. “How old are you?” He nervously asked. 

She was the one wearing a puzzled expression now. “I’m thirty three.” His eyes wided. 

“Wow! You look really young for thirty three!” 

“I get it.” She shrugged. “I’m aware that I’m really short.” He smiled and opened the back door for her. He gestured for her to sit in a chair across from him. 

The interview went over fairly well. She kind of preferred the job at the coffee shop, because that’s where she felt most comfortable, but she’d be happy with either job. “Thank you so much,” She said, before she walked out.

“Um, would you like me to walk you to your car?” He stuttered over his words. He was trying to be polite, but Emma couldn’t help laughing.

“I survived an apocalypse, I’m fine with walking to my car, thank you.” In the car, she decided to try turning the radio on. She was in a good mood today. Music started playing and she found herself nodding along to the music.

She didn’t bother to take the elevator when she got home. Emma practically flew up the stairs shouting, “Jane! Jane! Jane!” She swung the apartment door open. “I put the radio on in the car and—!” 

“And…” Jane said, eagerly. 

“It was fine! I was fine!” She exclaimed, happily. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this happy.” Jane said, eyes wide and a grin displayed on her face. She threw her arms around Emma in a tight hug. She would’ve hugged her so that her arms were pinned to her sides. Even if she had wanted to, she couldn’t have hugged Jane back. Jane was pretty much, at this point, suffocating Emma, so she tried to choke out a few sounds. 

“Oh! Whoops!” Jane quickly let go.

_ Ring ring,  _ the phone rings. 

“I’ll answer it!” Emma ran over to the phone. It was the coffee shop. “Hello?” 

“Hello, we’re looking for a Ms. Emma Perkins.” 

Emma perked up. “That’d be me.” 

“Good. I’d just like to let you know got the job.” Emma held back a squeal. 

“Awesome, thank you so much!” She said. “Goodbye.” She hung up and let out a big breath of relief she didn’t know that she’d been holding. “I can’t believe it!” 

“Did you get it?” Jane assumed by the excited look on Emma’s face.

Emma nodded, looking as if she was about to explode with joy. “I’m so excited!” 

Jane shrieked. “I’m so proud of you! I’m so happy for you! Do you know when the shifts start or what they are?” 

“Umm… she told me the shifts are Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.” 

“That works out fine, then.” Jane said, “Although, I’m going to have to drive you to work most mornings.” 

Emma shrugged. “That’s fine with me… Uh, hey, Jane? I really like you. I know I tease you a lot but…” 

“You’re my friend.” Jane said, a slight smile growing on her face.

“How many friends do you have?” Emma asked, her eyebrows furrowing together. Jane paused to think.

“You haven’t met any of them, have you?” She responded with her question of her own. Emma shook her head.

“If these so-called ‘friends’ exist, why haven’t you ever mentioned them?” Emma said snarkily. 

Jane said, “Well, if I’m being honest, your health has been my priority for a while.” 

Emma smiled. “Aww, thanks, Jane.” 

Jane smiled back at her. “You know, you’re probably going to need to make breakfast at night or we’re going to be picking up donuts every morning.” 

Emma rolled her eyes. “I’m gonna work at a coffee shop. We can just pick something up there. I did it all the time at Beanies. With permission,” She added, catching Jane’s worried look. 

“I see.” Jane flopped dramatically down onto the couch and shut her eyes. 

Emma noticed that it was only about 3 p.m, but Jane probably needed some rest. “You need to sleep.” 

“But it’s only two thirty,” Jane whined.

“Take a nap then.” Emma paused for a moment, “How much do you weigh?” 

Jane seemed like she was having trouble staying awake. “135 pounds, I think.” 

“Good.” Emma scooped Jane up and carried her to the bedroom. She set her on the bed just to find that she was almost already asleep. She pressed her lips to Jane’s forehead, hoping that by the time Jane woke up, she'd have forgotten what just happened. She sighed, shut off the light, and quietly shut the door. She decided to make something special for dinner as a celebration.  _ What should I make? What am I good at making? Oh, my homemade pasta! Perfect! I could even make something for dessert.  _

Two hours and some more time later, Jane walked into the kitchen to see Emma covered from head to toe in flour, sugar, chocolate, and more baking ingredients. 

“Emma, what happened here? It looks like a crime scene,” Jane asked, eyes wide and eyebrows raised. 

“I’m just making dinner,” She responded. “Alright, now get out of my kitchen!” 

“Geez, fine,” She said, quickly heading out of the kitchen. 

30 minutes later, the kitchen was completely clean and the table was set. Jane was permitted by Emma to step into the kitchen again, and it smelled great. 

“Emma, oh my goodness, this smells amazing!” Jane said, a wide grin on her face. “It looks great, too.” 

Emma pulled the chair out for her. Jane sat down while Emma took off her apron. “You can help yourself,” She permissed. Jane took three serving spoons of Emma’s pasta. She sprinkled some salt and pasta sauce (also made by Emma,) on top. 

“This is delicious,” She said, mouth full of food. 

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Emma said, as if reprimanding a small child. “But I’m glad you like it, I worked really hard on it.” 

They finished eating with some occasional banter, teasing, random conversations. 

“That was really good,” Jane stated as she put the dishes in the sink. 

“There’s more. I made dessert, too.” Jane’s jaw dropped at Emma’s announcement. “And you say I eat too much?” Emma teased. 

“In my defense, you really can cook.”

“If you wanted to know, I made you blueberry pie,” Emma said, completely moving past the previous conversation. She knew how much Jane loved blueberries. 

“Then why were you covered in chocolate?” 

“Because chocolate is delicious and we had some in the cabinet.” Jane found this a good enough answer. 

“How did you know?” Jane asked, referencing the blueberries. 

“Only the fact that you yell, which scares me, every time I try to eat some blueberries from the fridge.” Emma laughed. 

“I guess so…” She said, cracking a smile. “Now, what was that before I was asleep?”

“Uh… I don’t know what you’re talking about…” Jane raised her eyebrows. “Um… okay… it was a kiss on the forehead?” Her voice rising several octaves.

“I could tell, I was there. But why?” Jane asked, moving her chair closer to Emma’s. 

“I guess I felt like I should? You’ve taken care of me for awhile since the apotheosis and I felt like I should do the same,” Emma explained. 

“Well, I appreciate that, but you know you don’t have to take care of me, right?” Jane asked.

“I know.” Jane could swear she saw a tear glistening on Emma’s cheek. “Jane, can I tell you something?”

“Emma you can tell me absolutely anything, okay?” 

“Okay.” Emma took a deep breath, and as she exhaled it became shaky and unstable. “Well, you know that old guy that was in the alleyway?” 

“Yep. Professor Hidgens, right?” Emma nodded in response. 

“Yeah, well… my parents kinda hated me and favored my sister, so he kinda raised me- and then became my biology professor, but that’s really not important,” She said, pausing to lift herself up onto the counter. “I don’t know how I met him,” She lied, “But he was kinda like my dad for my whole life.”

“Really?” Jane asked. When Emma didn’t respond, but burying her face in her hands, Jane could tell that this was probably the truth. “I’m so sorry, Emma.” 

“M-my parents-s we-ere ho-horrible. T-th-they didn’t c-care ab-bout me at a-all. S-so, he t-took me f-for 9 ye-years and th-e-ey l-let him!” 

“That’s good, right?” Jane said, trying— but failing— to comfort Emma. 

“B-but what if he h-hadn’t be-been so n-nice? W-what if he w-was try-trying to h-hurt me? Th-they wou-would’ve just l-let him!” Emma paused and let her grief sink in even though she was trying to release it. It had made a home in her and wouldn’t leave. “I m-miss him.” 

“He was a good person.” 

“He r-really was-s,” She sobbed. 

“I know. I know.” 

“And I miss Paul,” Emma said, wiping her eyes clear of tears.

Jane sighed. “This isn’t about Hidgens at all, is it?” Emma shook her head. “If there had been a way around what happened to Paul, we would’ve found it and taken it you know.” 


	5. Agony, Far More Painful Than Yours (What?)

Emma was miserable. 

She couldn’t cook, she couldn’t talk, she could barely move, she just slept for the next two days. 

Jane woke up each day and watched Emma until the sun went down again. It wasn’t a particularly good use of two full days, but Emma was a light sleeper and it was quite easy to wake her up. There were two things Jane noticed over those two days: Emma looked really peaceful when she was asleep, and she snores, but it’s really soft and quiet. 

The only times Jane would have to get up is when she needed to make herself food, and to take care of their dog, who they had named Chuck, (by Jane’s request.) 

When Emma finally woke up, the first thing she said, “I’m hungry.” 

“What do you want to eat?” Jane asked. 

“As long as I don’t have to make it, I’m fine with anything, really.” Emma said, almost weakly. 

Jane couldn’t cook to save her life, so she poured some cereal into a bowl and handed it to Emma. 

“You can’t cook,” Emma stated, plainly. 

“I know,” Jane admitted, rubbing the back of her own neck awkwardly. “So, how are you feeling?”

“Much better. I must have been really miserable and tired. How long was I asleep for?” Emma asked.

“Uh… two full days,” Jane answered, watching Emma’s eyes widen. 

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever done that before. My new record, I guess,” Emma responded, drowsily. 

“You probably haven’t. You were tired and depressed though, so you were out cold.” 

Emma nodded and they sat in silence for a few minutes before Emma broke the silence and said, “I’m still tired.” 

Jane rolled her eyes and chuckled. “That’s stupid.”

“So are you, but I don’t call  _ you  _ out on it.” Emma shrugged. 

She pouted in response, whining, “Don’t be so mean!” 

Emma sighed, clearly having moved on from their bantering altogether. “These past few weeks have been the official worst weeks in my life, Jane.” 

Jane wrapped her arm around Emma’s shoulders when she noticed that tears, much to Emma’s protest, were spilling out of her eyes at an alarming rate. Then came her verbal sobs. Her body shook with each one as they came from her pure despair. Jane could’ve sworn she felt her heart break each time Emma cried because it only got worse. 

“I’m s-so sor-rry th-that I k-keep do-doing this-s,” Emma choked out through her heavy flow of tears, burying her face in Jane’s sweatshirt covered shoulder. 

“No, no! It’s okay, you need to do this sometimes. Whether you like it or not, you’ve got emotions and you’re not supposed to ignore them.” Jane heard muffled laughter. 

“Ugh,” Emma said, pulling herself back from Jane’s shoulder and wiping some of her tears away. “I hate that.” Jane knew Emma wouldn’t particularly like it if she laughed, but she couldn’t hold it back and did so anyway. 

Jane pulled her phone out of her sweatshirt pocket and mumbled, “9 o’clock.” 

“We’ve got the whole day to do whatever… wait a second, if I slept for two days that means my job starts tomorrow morning!” Emma exclaimed, 

“Oh, good. Do we have to… do anything to prepare for it?” Jane asked, hating the fact that she sounded like a mother talking to her child the week before school started. 

“I need a new uniform, they’re supposed to supply one, but they take it out of your paycheck and I’m currently broke, so I opted against it,” Emma explained.

“Well, that was a long way of explaining it, but… new uniform, understood.” Emma practically threw the covers off of herself and jumped off of the bed dashing to the kitchen, noticing on the way out that Jane was staring at her with a grin on her face. This was most likely caused by how childish Emma looked running out of the bedroom. She looked like she was skipping, even with her bad leg, which hadn’t seemed to cause her pain since a few days after they returned from the hospital. 

“I’ll cook this morning since I won’t have much time to do it after today.” She said, dashing around the kitchen with lightning speed and intense precision, skilfully grabbing ingredients off their shelves and out of the refrigerator. “Wait a second. Hygiene. I should probably change first…” She ran back to the bedroom quicker than she had run to the kitchen before. She pulled on a pair of leggings and one of Jane’s large sweatshirts.

As Emma made her appearance once again in the kitchen, Jane said, “Are you aware that you’re wearing my clothes?” She couldn’t help but crack a smile at the amusing sight in front of her. Emma’s pants actually did fit her, but Jane’s oversized sweatshirt certainly didn’t. She was almost swimming in the sweatshirt, and it was almost impossible for Jane to keep a straight face. She managed, however, she let out a noise that seemed to be a mix of laughter and choking. 

“This sweatshirt is belongs to me now,” Emma replied, seriously. 

“I’ll take it back tomorrow since you can’t wear sweatshirts at work,” Jane stated, pointedly. 

Emma gave her a determined look as if to win this battle and said, “I will wear it around my waist. We were allowed to do that at Beanies and my manager was terrible.” 

“Alright fine, but you better give that back on movie night. That’s my favorite one.” Jane sighed. 

“Okay, but I pick the movie.” Emma raised her eyebrows and went back to her cooking. 

As if only to distract her, but mostly because Jane was bored, Jane asked, “Did you know that you snore?” 

“Yes, I know, but you said that didn’t bother you,” Emma said, starting to be offended. 

“It doesn’t!” Their conversation ended there. Emma reached into the pantry, which was almost empty. All she saw was a box of pancake mix. “I just think it’s cute…” Emma pretended to ignore what she just heard. 

“That’ll do.” She decided reaching for the vegetable oil, but failing to grab it. She let out a few grunts of frustration before she felt hands on her waist lifting her up to reach the bottle. “Thanks,” She said, without even looking. 

“ I have a question for you...” Jane said. 

“Yeah?” Was all she could respond. 

“Do you want to go out for dinner tonight?” Jane asked, nervously.

“Did you just ask me on a date?” Emma asked, partially in disbelief. 

“Maybe… but I can’t confirm or deny right now because that’s a major plot point.” Jane answered.

“Sure, I’ll go for dinner with you as long as you stop talking like we’re fictional characters in some book,” Emma answered, snapping Jane out of her dream-like trance. 

“Where would you like to go? I didn’t have anything planned,” Jane admitted. 

“Maybe the place down the street?” Emma suggested.

Jane nodded. “Sounds good.” 

9 hours later…

Jane sat by the door waiting for Emma so they could leave. “Emma, let’s go!” She called.

“Hold on, I can’t find a sweatshirt!” Emma yelled back, throwing clothes around their bedroom, desperately searching for one of their seemingly inexistant sweatshirts. 

“Just wear mine, then!” Jane yelled. Emma walked quickly to the front door and caught the sweatshirt Jane tossed at her. 

“Thank you,” She whispered. Jane linked her right arm with Emma’s left and together, they walked out. 

Jane climbed into the driver’s side and Emma sat it the passenger’s seat. Jane drove them two blocks down and opened the door for Emma to get out. 

“Jane you don’t have to do that…” Emma said, biting her lip. 

She grinned while Emma turned bright red. “I know.” Once inside and seated, Jane pulled out Emma’s chair for her. Her blush only turned a deeper shade of red. 

“I can do that for myself, Jane… I’m not disabled…” They sat down across from each other, awkwardly trying to distract themselves with and object around them. Jane started playing around with the fork that was set on the table and Emma played with the strings on Jane’s sweatshirt. They were both incredibly nervous, but apparently oblivious to the other’s emotions. 

“You look good in my sweatshirt,” Jane pointed out.

“And you wonder why I steal your clothes?” Emma scoffed. “I look great.” 

“Excuse me?” The waited said, popping up at their table. “What would you like to drink?”

“Just some water, please,” Emma requested. 

“Same for me,” 

“I’ll be right back with your drinks, here are your menus.” With that, she placed the two menus on the table in front of her. 

“Thank you,” Emma squeaked. There was nothing more scary to Emma than going out to eat.  _ Why did I let Jane bring me here? I hate restaurants. I hate ordering.  _ She let out a noise of utter anger and frustration, but also one of nervousness. 

Jane assumed that this was because of the menu. “What’s wrong?”

“Uh...umm… I’m trying to find something that I can eat here…” By the puzzled look on Jane’s face, she understood that she needed to explain. “I’m allergic to peanuts.” 

“I didn’t notice,” Jane said, eyebrows furrowing together. “Wanna ask the waiter?”

“Yeah, sure..” Emma did wave down the waiter, she just felt incredibly bad doing it.

“Is there a problem?” She asked. 

“Would you mind telling me what doesn’t have peanuts in it?” Emma asked, politely.

“Of course! Are you allergic?” Emma nodded, the waiter added, “Me too,” and listed some dishes from memory. 

“The caesar salad sounds delicious, I’ll go with that,” Emma decided. 

“And I’ll go with the grilled cheese,” Jane said, mind wandering elsewhere.

When the waiter left, Emma asked Jane, “What are you thinking about?”

“Life, tomorrow, you. Mostly you,” Jane admitted.

“Whoa!” Emma said leaning back and away from Jane. “Coming on a bit strongly, don’t you think?” 

“Can I talk to you about something?” Jane asked, awkwardly.

“Fire away, Jane.” 

“If you need me to do so, tell me to stop. This past month of our lives has been really bad for us. Mostly for you. It’s been exhausting, emotionally draining, and painful. But with me working at CCRP, I feel like I haven’t really gotten to spend time with you as much as I would’ve liked. With your new job starting, we’ll get to see each other for approximately 32 hours every week. I really don’t hate you, so I think we should do more things like this.” Jane rambled. 

“Definitely,” Emma said. “Come here, you’ve got something on your face.”

Jane leaned across the table, Emma got closer, rubbed Jane’s cheekbone with her thumb, and kissed her on the cheek. Emma could feel her cheeks burning red and could see the same thing happening to Jane. They both frantically looked to either side of them. Jane swore she could see her boss lowering his magazine and giving her a thumbs up. When she shook her head to look again, all she saw was a bald man reading a magazine.

“That was nice…” Jane whispered, although her words failed to describe it. It was a small and simple action, but it made her heart flutter and she definitely stopped breathing for at least a second.

“What did you say?” Emma asked, the ghost of a smile dancing across her lips. 

Jane cleared her throat and prepared herself to continue. “I said, ‘that was nice,’” 

“I know, I just wanted to make you say it again.” She said, teasingly. 

“Wait, what? Not fair!” Jane whined.

Emma shrugged. “I don’t play fair. I’m just irresistible.” With a flip of her long, dark hair, she smirked at Jane. 

“I won’t admit it,” She said stubbornly, crossing her arms. 

Emma giggled loudly enough for the table next to them to give the pair an odd look. “You just did.” 

She really didn’t want to admit it, but she was always in awe at the mere presence of Emma. This woman, although tiny, had survived an apocalypse. She was tough, even if she didn’t look it. Emma had gotten herself out of many horrible situations, and Jane found that impressive and inspiring. Also, even though Jane wouldn’t admit it, she also found Emma stunningly beautiful. 

Thankfully, for Jane anyway, waiter came and interrupted her thoughts. 

Neither woman wanted to eat in awkward silence, so the two silently agreed to move past the previous conversation and move along. 

“Excited about your new job?” Jane asked, taking a gooey bite of the grilled cheese.” 

“Mhm,” She mumbled, her mouth full of salad. To show Jane that they were cool and she was done teasing, she grabbed her hand over the table. Jane reluctantly let her keep holding it. 

Jane decided to settle this dispute,  _ if that’s even what this is… _ “I’m not mad at you, y'know.” 

“Okay,” She said, and she was about to pull her hand away, Jane held on tighter. Emma chewed a little faster and Jane decided to study Emma’s eyes, which were currently observing everything in the restaurant. 

_ Her eyes are so pretty. Brown, but closer to her pupil, it’s more of an amber.  _

Emma was waving her hand in front of Jane's face. “Jane? Anyone home? Hello?” 

_ Oops. Did I really zone out thinking about Emma? How embarrassing.  _

“Your eyes are really pretty,” Jane said, clearly without thinking first. 

“No, no, that’s not true. I mean, my eyes are just brown. Yours are better, you have really bright blue eyes. That’s a lot better than brown, don’t you think?”

“Brown and blue…” Jane repeated. “Well, you’ve got the nicest brown eyes I’ve ever seen.” 

“Thanks, I guess…” Emma said, looking from side to side. 

Jane looked down at their plates. They’re both empty. Emma knocked her glass over, probably while Jane was staring at her. “Are you still hungry?” 

“Yeah, but we should probably get going.” Emma picked up the glass she had earlier knocked over and mopped up the water with a wad of napkins. Athens waiter promptly came over with the bill.

“I’ll pay,” Jane offered. 

Emma reluctantly agreed. “But only because I don’t have a job!” She crossed her arms. 

On their way out, Emma grabbed Jane’s arm. Jane felt her whole body go rigid. This was not something that she was used to from Emma. In general, yes, but from Emma? Absolutely not. 

“What do you want to do at home?” Emma asked, completely ignoring how red Jane had gone at Emma’s previous action. 

“Well, it’s movie night. Which means, my sweatshirt…?” She held out her hand expectantly. Emma shook her head. “Fine, then I pick the movie!”

“Fine, then I’m not cooking tonight!” Emma said, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“I’ll do it then.” 

“But you can’t cook!” Emma whined. 

Jane took her phone out of her pocket. “I’ll order pizza.” 

Emma notices the problem, “We just ate.” 

“Well, if you won’t come with me to get it…” Jane crouched down. She wrapped her arm around Emma’s shoulders, wrapping the other arm around the back of her knees. She lifted Emma up, which she assumed was okay because she heard no objection to it. “Maybe we should just go home.” Emma made a noise that sounded like a mix between a growl and a whine. 

Jane reluctantly set Emma down in the car. 

“I guess there are a few things we need to say…” Emma began, almost prodding Jane to begin talking.

“Well, you mean a lot to me, Emma. You’re very strong and independent, but I’d like you to know that I’m always here for you if you need me. It goes without saying that I like you  _ a lot. _ ” 

“You’re awesome, too.” The two girls were both sweating and shaking.    
“Emma, this can wait until we get home,” Jane insisted, resting her hand over Emma’s. “And put you seatbelt on, I don’t want you to die.” Emma gasped and was tugged into her memories. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

__ Crash. _ She’d killed her sister. Expecting to stop, the brakes didn’t work and the car kept going at lightning speed, smacking into anything in its path. That ‘thing’ just so happened to be Emma’s sister, Jane. _

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

“I didn’t do it! I didn’t kill her, it wasn’t my fault, mom. Dad, you have to believe me, it wasn’t my fault.” Emma repeatedly mumbled these things to herself as if trying to convince her mind that she wasn’t the one who had crashed into Jane. 

“Emma, no. It wasn’t you. You were in Guatemala, you did not crash into your sister.” Jane tried to be reassuring to no avail.

As soon as their car pulled up to the apartment building they were currently residents of, Emma jumped out of the car as well as she could and ran into the first floor lobby. The doorman didn’t even have time to greet her. Jane followed as best she could. Her excuse is and always will be old age, but Emma was born years before Jane was and Jane just couldn’t bring herself to admit that Emma is always in better shape, despite laying on the couch for a month. “Emma, be careful!” Jane calls after her.

“I’ll be fine!” Emma yells back, laughing. 

The only thing possible for Jane to think about at this moment was how much she absolutely loved Emma’s laughter.  _ I’d gladly listen to it all day.  _ She thinks.  _ I love the way she looks when she’s concentrating, how stubborn she is, and the fact that she goes to my closet before her own. There are too many things that I love about Emma. I can’t believe I’m doing this. I’m such a horrible person, but I can’t help it. She’s just too perfect.  _

Although she refuses to say it out loud, Emma loves Jane. She sees her as more than a friend, more than a best friend, even maybe more that what she sees in Paul. 

“Emma?” Jane hollered up the stairway, disturbing the occasional passerby. 

“Yeah? Emma responded, the sound of her footsteps began to fade away. 

Jane swallowed and hoped she wasn’t being too controlling. “Go inside the apartment and wait for me on the couch.” 

Emma didn’t respond, but Jane could hear the faint turning of a key and the closing of a door. Once Jane finally reached the top of the staircase, she walked in through the door, sat next to Emma, and without asking first, wrapped her arms around Emma’s waist. 

Neither of them needed to speak, so neither of them did. Emma hated being left alone to her thoughts, yet it happened much too often anyway. She couldn’t help but give into the thought her brain was continuously presenting her with: What would it be like to kiss Jane? This was a horrible thought, but she couldn’t manage to make it leave her alone. The particular thought she was trying to get rid of was only making it easier for other thoughts like this, thoughts she didn’t necessarily want, to pop up even more. It felt wrong to think about kissing anyone else but Paul.

_ Oh no… Here I go again.  _ Paul is dead. Paul is dead. Paul is dead. As much as she would’ve loved to date Paul, it was impossible. They were trying to save the world, and he had to go and be a great person. Paul made her so happy. He ordered the cheapest drink in the store and tipped her five bucks everyday. He didn’t know it, but he was always the highlight of her day. He made her incredibly happy, but she would never feel like that again, because he was gone now. 

_ Remember, Emma? It’s your fault he’s gone.  _ She harshly told herself. Her face quickly morphed into a scowl. Jane made her just as happy as Paul did, right?  _ Why am I not happy?  _

She missed being able to hold his hand and complain about her job. She missed him holding her and letting her rest her head against his shoulder. She hadn’t ever loved anyone more. Even after all they've been through, they never got to say their proper goodbyes. They would never be able to be happy with each other. 

Now she had questions: Does she love Jane more than Paul? Could she really be happy with Jane? Could she ever be happy again? That what she really wants, right? No, what she wanted was to be happy with Jane and to stop obsessing over a dead guy. She felt like she was being ungrateful because she had Jane and Jane was great. Paul and Jane were the two greatest things to ever happen in her life. No, Paul was the greatest thing, tied with Hidgens taking her in. 

After the whole ordeal, what she really missed was what they did at the end of one of the days of the apotheosis when they were tired. Emma would sit with Paul while he took her hair down and combed through it with his fingers, quietly whispering to her until she fell asleep in his arms. 

Emma never knew what he did once she was asleep, and for that, he was glad. Paul would continue running his fingers through her hair and he’d lean down and kiss her temples. For a little while, he would look at her and admire how peaceful she looked, even when she was asleep. He picked her up and brought her to the nearest surface she could comfortably fall asleep on. Most times it was the bed in their room, but sometimes it was the couch. Hidgens absolutely refused to let Emma sleep on the couch however, so once he assured Paul that he’d watch after her, he carried her to his bed and slept on the couch himself. 

He treated her just perfectly, just like she wanted, even though she’d never say it out loud. They hardly knew each other but they had certainly fallen in love.  _ But it doesn’t matter anymore. He’s dead, Emma. He’s never going to come back, alright?  _

“Hello? Emma?” Jane was waving her hand in front of Emma’s face, trying to get her attention. “Are you okay?” 

Without realizing it, Emma had started crying over Paul. Over a dead guy she recently met. “I’m fine,” She lied, shakily wiping salty tears off her cheeks. “Completely fine.” Jane pulled her closer to try and be comforting. 

“You’ll be fine.” Jane wanted Emma to feel better, but knew right now that it was impossible. For the rest of the night, neither of them said a word. The only sound echoing throughout the apartment was Emma crying and sniffling.

***

The next morning, Emma felt much better than she did the night before. “Ready for work?” Jane asked. 

Once Emma had left, Jane decided to call Keegan. 

“Hey!” He said, picking up the phone. 

“I’m bored. Do you wanna come over?” Jane inquired, flopping down onto the couch. 

“Sure. Where are you living instead of with me?” He said, annoyance in his voice. 

Completely ignoring the tone in his voice, she said, “I’ll text it to you.” 30 minutes after, her showed up at her door. They exchanged a hug. 

“So why did you leave me? Your husband?” He asked. 

“I didn’t leave you, okay? They made me stay with her since she’s not allowed to live by herself!” She yelled. 

“When can you come home?” He whined. “I miss you.” She grabbed his hand and ran her thumb over his ring. 

“As soon as I can find a reason to leave and blame it on her, I’m back to you and the kids. I promise,” She explained. “Do want to watch a movie?” He nodded. 

They decided to watch  _ High School Musical. _

“Zac Efron is really great. He’s so charismatic!” Keegan blurted, the second the credits started rolling. Jane nodded in agreement. 

There was a fumbling of some keys and the door opened, revealing Emma. Jane rolled her eyes, but had to put on a smile.

“Hi, Emma. This is my friend Keegan. We knew each other in high school and then went to college together.”

“That’s great! You actually  _ do  _ have friends.” Emma teased. 

“Keegan, this is my g— Emma. This is Emma.” A few minutes of silence passed before Keegan stood up. 

“Nice to meet you.” He stuck out his hand. 

“You as well.” She shook it. 

“Well, I’ll uh… talk to you later,” 

Emma slammed the door behind her as Keegan left. “ _ What was that? _ ” She yelled, unleashing pure amounts of anger. 

“What?” Jane’s eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. “What are you talking about?” 

“When you introduced me to your friend!” Emma explained, angrily, throwing off her coat and shoes. 

Jane couldn’t find a reasonable explanation.“I just didn’t know what to call you, alright?” 

“Call me whatever, I don’t care.”

Jane’s eyes lit up with the spark of an idea. “I’ll call you my girlfriend then.” 

“That is _not_ what I— oh, never mind.” Emma was too tired to argue at this point. 

Jane grinned smugly. “That turned out well.” 

“Okay, fine,” Emma whined. “Now, I’m really tired so I’m going to bed.” She tried to pull away from Jane’s embrace, but failed.

Jane grips even tighter. “You’re not going to go to sleep until you tell me how work was,” Jane says. Emma yawns.

“It was fine. Now let me sleep, I’m exhausted.” Jane reluctantly let go of her. Emma started stepping into the dark hallway. 

“You’re gonna be alright,” Jane whispered as Emma disappeared into the pitch black hallway.  _ Emma is perfect. She’s gorgeous and she’s everything I’ve ever needed.  _ Little did she know, Emma felt almost the same way. 


	6. That’s Not Right

As soon as Emma fell asleep, she was completely lost in her dream. 

”Paul?” She heard her dream-self say as she approached the tall man. 

“Emma!” He exclaims, his bright blue eyes shining as he rushes over to embrace her. “I missed you so much!” 

“Oh, Paul, I can’t believe it! Wait… no, no, no, no, no! How are you alive?” Emma yelled, pushing Paul off of her. 

He looked at her with a soft look and took her hand in his own. “I destroyed the meteor, just like you said, Em.” 

“But...you’re… you’re dead!” She shouted, desperate and confused. 

“Em, what are you talking about?” He said with a nervous laugh and soon he started to tear up. “Emma, I’m okay. I’m not dead. Are you alright?” All she could do was shake your head.

“Paul…” She squeaked, frozen, looking like a deer in the headlights. 

“ _ Emma, I am here now, _ ” He began to sing, pulling Emma’s hand towards him.

“No! Get away from me!” She screamed, trying to wrench her arm from his grip. “Please, stop singing!” She yelled, at last freeing her arm. 

She made an attempt to run.  _ Where can I go? Where am I?  _ It was pitch black and all Emma could see was Paul. She looks down at her hand but she couldn’t see it. Paul was approaching and… glowing? 

How had she failed to realize this before?  _ Paul is still infected! How can this be possible?  _

Then it happened. Paul seized her wrist and whispered in a demonic voice, “Join the Hive, Emma. The apotheosis is upon us.” 

“Paul, stop!” She demanded. She felt as if her head was about to explode. 

She stopped seeing through her own eyes and was disconnected from her body. She was in the infected Paul’s mind. She could see her and Jane’s apartment door. 

“Emma…” He whispered. 

And then she woke up. Crying, scared, and worst of all, alone. 

“Emma!” She heard a man’s voice call. She shrieked. 

“What do I do? What do I do?” She panicked.  _ Hide.  _ Her eyes darted around the room, and she decided to hide in the closet. 

She trembled and was trying not to make a sound. Emma covered her mouth with her shaking hand. 

There was a knock on her wooden door. “Go away!” She called instinctively. Quickly, she realized her mistake, and all the color drained from her face.

The knocking stopped as soon as it started. She could hear the door open. Emma felt around the closet for anything she could use to defend herself. In the closet she spotted a metal pole, meant for hanging clothes but had earlier fallen down. 

She clung to the pole like she had her life in her hands. 

The closet door opened. There was blue slime streaking down down the white button up shirt that the man was wearing. She couldn’t see his face, but she knew it was Paul. His infected counterpart, anyways. He leaned down to the trembling figure, and for once, he felt something. 

He seized her bicep and pulled her to a standing position.

This Paul was incredibly strong. He had no problem picking her up and holding her where he decided she should be. The only issue was their height. Emma stood at least a foot shorter than Paul. 

Emma noticed the blue blood dripping from the corners of his smile and wrinkled her nose in disgust. She felt his grip tightening. 

“Get away!” She said, loudly. She accepted the fact that he was absolutely gone by now. There was no way that he could be saved. What she didn’t know was that she was wrong. 

He wasn’t far gone at all. None of them were. Professor Hidgens, Zoey, Nora, Ted, Bill, Alice, Deb, or Melissa. They were still fighting, but much like Emma, they were weakening. 

The Hive promised them happiness. It promised that they’d no longer have to feel pain. 

The infected Paul leaned down towards Emma, his mouth now dripping blue goo. “No… Please!” She whimpered. 

But then he loosened his grip on her and she had enough common sense remaining to wrench herself free. She shoved him to the ground and ran to her phone on the bedside table. She dialed 911. 

“911, what’s your emergency?” The operator responded. 

“Uh hi, there’s an infected man in my apartment and to put it simply, he’s trying to kill me!” She said, running out her apartment door after a quick search for Jane, who wasn’t found. 

“We need to send P.E.I.P agents. Where are you?” 

“Apartment 258 on the third floor in the complex on Miller Drive.” Emma answered.

“Agents are on their way and will arrive in thirteen minutes. Get out of the building,” The operator ordered. Emma said goodbye and left. She had nowhere to go. 

Since the incident, P.E.I.P had been over to the island and declared it safe again. People had the freedom to visit, but no one ever did. 

_ I could go to Hidgens’ house.  _ She thought, then nodded and set off. 

It was quite a long journey and it was painful as well. Her leg was acting up again and there wasn’t anything she could do. She needs to get to the professor's house. 

The house itself was dark and creepy with leaves strewn across the yard. She’d been here many times before but it was incomplete without Professor Hidgens. 

She types in the password and the gates swung open. Cautiously, she steps inside the professor’s house, for the last time she was here, she was forced to watch her professor sing, dance and then die. She shook her head and turned the doorknob. It opens, like she expected. She heard Hidgens’ voice as soon as she stepped in his house. 

“Emma? Is that you?” His voice rang out.  _ What? How is this possible? He’s dead!  _

“Professor?” She replied, asking her own questions.

“Emma, listen. If you’ve come here, I’m infected or dead. We’ve probably come back and you’ve been forced out of your own home. I want you to listen very carefully because there is a way you can stay safe and cure us.” 

She hastily pulled out her phone to record what he was about to say. 

“First, make sure you have evidence of what I’m going to say. These aren’t the ravings of a crazy old man, I promise you. As you know, Emma, I’ve been preparing for this for 27 years. In that time, I’ve been testing on these spores and the blue goo that seems to be a good indication that someone who once walked among us has indeed been infected. Throughout my studies I’ve found that absolute isolation from The Hive for about seven days has the ability to kill off any remaining infection. The Hive does not need any food or sleep, and I am unsure of how they stay so strong with no nutrition or rest. Emma, if you’re still listening, please alert P.E.I.P of this information. I’ve tried, but they didn’t listen. Hopefully, they’ll listen to you. One more thing, I just want you to know that I am so incredibly proud of you.” His voice started to break. Emma could tell that he’d been crying during the recording. “I’ve always considered you like a daughter, and… if we both make it… promise— promise you won’t leave me to die alone?” His voice rose up as if he was asking her a question. 

Until now, Emma didn’t know how much she truly loved him and missed him. Watching him die was one of the worst things she’d ever been forced to experience. 

It was incredibly nice to know that he thought of her as a daughter, just like she thought of him as a father, especially since her father was at work quite often. Emma found herself sitting on the professor’s couch curled up in a ball and sobbing. She should’ve appreciated him more while she had a chance.  _ It’s too late now.  _

P.E.I.P. They need to see the video. Before she left, she fed herself and made a decent cup of coffee. She also looked for her professor’s closet. When she found it, she saw that there were twenty identical black turtlenecks and twenty brown jackets. 

“Are you kidding me?” She said, jaw dropped. She took a turtleneck from the hanger and slipped it over her oversized shirt. It felt warm and it smelled like Hidgens. 

Heading off once again, Emma wasn’t as scared as she was before. She knew how to stop The Hive now that P.E.I.P had destroyed the meteor. She was quite happy that she took the turtleneck; the wind was blowing hard on her skin. Her arms were fine, but her legs weren’t so lucky. Her work shorts weren’t helping her much. 

When she arrived, P.E.I.P had the apartment surrounded with vans and caution tape. Among the crowd of evacuated residents, she saw Jane, teeth chattering and her eyebrows furrowed together in worry. Emma didn’t have time to go over. She had other important things to do. 

Pulling out her phone, she approached an officer and politely tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around to face her. 

“Excuse me, I’m Emma Perkins. I have something you might want to see regarding the Hatchetfield incident and what’s going on here.” 

“Miss Perkins, is it going to help what’s going on here?” He said, not showing interest at all. 

“Of course. It’s a way we can decontaminate the infected.” The officer immediately gained interest. 

“Really?” He asked, trying to figure out if she was joking or not. She nodded, grinning. She played the video for the officer. “This is wonderful news!” He said, enthusiastically. “We must act upon this immediately!” He mumbled something into his radio. “Emma, thank you so much.” 

They finished evacuating the building. The rest of the team that was sent showed up in bright yellow biohazard suits and worked to capture and transport the infected. Emma found it hard to watch Paul being escorted away by the team. 

Emma’s apartment, for now, was too dangerous for her and Jane to stay in. Emma brought Jane with her to Professor Hidgens’ house. It was still dark and creepy, even though Emma had come there earlier today. 

“Don’t worry, it’s fine,” She reassured Jane. Emma punches in the passcode again. The gates swing open again. She turns the doorknob again. The recording started playing again. “Stop,” She commanded. It did. 

“Emma, dear, you’ve either heard it already or you’re in a bad mood. If you’re in a bad mood, I'm sorry to hear that but I’m afraid you have to go outside and walk in again.” She giggled at how well he knew her. 

“Jane, there’s a room through the second door on the right. You can sleep in there. There’s not a lot of food in the kitchen, but I’m not making anything for you.” Emma realized exactly how tired she was. 

Before falling asleep that night she didn’t bother to take off the turtleneck. 

The next morning when she got up for work, even earlier than usual for travel time, she tied the turtleneck around her waist and set off. 

“Jane? I have to go to work. You’re going to be fine by yourself. See you later!” It was freezing cold outside but Emma already had a great feeling about the day ahead. It was the day that isolation for the infected began. Soon, Paul was going to be better.

***

Three days later, Emma got a message from P.E.I.P that the isolation was working. 

Everyone was in pain. The mothership was punishing them for trying to leave The Hive. They were not allowed to be near another infected member. The drumming in Paul’s skull was dying out. Alice was think about Deb. The professor had fond memories of Greg, Steve, Stu, Mark, Leighton and Chad again. 

They were getting better, This was good news, and Emma smiled the whole way throughout work. 

Four days after the first message, this was the message she received:

_ “Emma, all of your friends have made a full recovery. Mr. Matthews will be sent to your apartment as soon as we can get him there. All of the others will be given apartments in the same complex as you. We figured you all would want to stay together.” _

She was unable to contain her excitement all day.  _ Paul is coming home. PAUL IS COMING HOME. Paul will be home! I’m going to see him again. This is the greatest thing ever. _

At twelve p.m. exactly there was a firm knock on the door. _ It has to be Paul. _ Emma, for once was speechless. 

“Hey,” He said, breathlessly. She threw her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his hips. In return her wrapped both of his arms around her waist and rested his chin on top of her head. “Hello, my little monkey.” 

“Aw, now I’m crying,” She mumbled. 

“Over a guy you met at a coffee shop,” He teases. 

She stuck her bottom lip out. “This was a moment and you ruined it!”

“I’m sorry, Em.” They hugged for a few more minutes before they let go. 

“Come in,” She offered. He shuffled awkwardly past her.

“Emma, I’m really sorry,” He said, sitting on the couch. 

“I— I just missed you, I guess,” She sobbed, retrieving a tissue from the kitchen for herself.

“It’s okay. It’s going to be okay from now on,” He tried to comfort her. She joined him on the couch and leaned her head on his chest. He wrapped his arm around her farthest shoulder to bring her closer. 

“I fainted after you left me.” Emma was staring into the dark screen of the TV. 

“I’m not surprised. You were in a lot of pain.” He looked down at the tiny figure who wasn’t looking back at him. 

“So how are you still here?” 

“The Hive heals really quickly,” He answers. 

Emma shrugged. “That makes sense I guess. It’s kinda weird though.”

He grinned and leaned his head on top of hers. “I knew you’d understand. Henry Hidgens is your biology professor.” 

She nuzzled her nose into the junction between Paul’s shoulder and his neck. “I missed you.” 

“If I had been in my own body, I would’ve missed you, too,” He whispered. 

“Paul? I love you.”  _ Woah, wait! I love Jane, not Paul!  _ “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that!” She guiltily exclaimed.

“Emma, I know you’re with that other girl.” 

“Yeah, but I—” She started to argue, but soon realized it was pointless. Emma could feel Paul pulling her closer to him.

“Em, I will always love you even if you no longer love me,” He said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She was tearing up and trying to hold it back. 

“I do love you, Paul!” She defended, “...but I love Jane.” 

“More?” He asked, the sadness in his voice shining through. 

“Paul…” She squeaked, tears about to spill from her eyes. “I— I— I don’t know, Paul.” She started sobbing. Figuring she’d want to be alone, Paul lifted her off of him and started to leave the living room. “Don’t leave!” He turned on his heel, walked towards her and joined her on the couch. Emma grabbed his hands, afraid to let go. 

Soon, Paul fell asleep. He hadn’t been able to sleep as part of The Hive.

While he was catching up on some sleep, Emma combed her fingers through Paul’s hair. “I love you,” She whispered, Even though she tried to convince herself that she didn’t. Eventually, Emma fell asleep on Paul’s chest, snoring softly. 

That sight was a very unhappy one for Jane to see.

“ _ EMMA!” _ She exclaimed, her voice filled with hurt. Emma woke up to a jolt. 

“Jane! Oh my god, this isn’t what you think it is! I— I’m sorry!” Emma yelled, still not fully awake. Jane could feel her face heating up and turning red.

“Oh, sure,” Jane said.  _ I won’t cry. I’m not going to cry.  _ She stalked out of the apartment.

Emma let out a frustrated cry. She lifted herself off Paul and grabbed her phone. 

She sent a text to the P.E.I.P officer that she’d been messaging back and forth with to ask what room Professor Hidgens was in. It was the room two doors down from her. She left the apartment, but first threw a blanket over Pul.

She knocked at the professor’s door. 

“Professor?” She called.

“Who is it?” He grumbled, barely audible.

“It’s me, Emma,” She said. He slowly opened the door. Emma tackled him with a hug. He was shocked but hugged her as if he hadn’t seen her in years. Henry Hidgens was over a foot taller than her. She did find him inspiring, but she also literally looked up to him. This made hugging a little difficult. “I missed you, dad.” She realized what she’d said and had to correct it. “I’m sorry.” Her face turned red.  _ Very embarrassing.  _ Emma thought. 

“It’s alright, Emma. Everyone does it,” He assured her.

“No, it wasn’t an accident. Well, it was, but you’re like a dad to me. Y’know ever since… well, you know.” He rubbed his hand around her back. 

“And I’ve always thought of you like a daughter,” He responded. “Where are my manners? Come in, come in!” He pranced to his living room with Emma following. He clearly already made himself comfortable. Papers were scattered across the coffee table, the sink was full of water and he sat on the couch, grinning at her. 

“Haven’t you been here for, like, 20 minutes?” She asked. He shrugged.

“Time is merely an obstacle. Once you learn to overcome it, you can do anything,” He explained, dramatically. Emma was left wide eyed and skeptical. 

“Okay… It still doesn’t, uh, explain how you move so fast…” Emma stuttered. Hidgens dropped the subject.

“How are you, Emma?” He asked, awkwardly trying to make conversation.

“How am I? You just recovered! How are  _ you? _ ” 

He gulped. “I don’t want to…” A pause, for dramatic effect. “Talk about me.” Emma rolled her eyes,

“Oh really? You still thinking about Greg, Steve, Stu, Mark, Leighton and,” She paused as well, “Chad?” He sighed and buried his face in his hands. “Professor, I didn’t mean to—” 

He took his face out of his hands. “Emma, it’s okay, it’s just… I miss them, that’s all.” Now he wasn’t being dramatic. Emma made him feel terrible. She put her hand on his back in an attempt to comfort her sobbing professor. “I’m terribly sorry about this.” 

“It’s okay. It’s alright to cry, you taught me that. Thanks, by the way.” 

“For what? I’ve just sat here and cried,” He answered, wiping his eyes on his long sleeve. 

“For before. Fifteen years ago, I mean.” 

“Emma, if I had been legally allowed to, I would have adopted you.” He said, nodding solemnly. “So, I assume you found the recording?” 

“Yeah. I don’t know what I would’ve done without your preparedness,” She admitted.

“You’d be dead, Emma.” He smirked.

“Probably,” She agreed. 

She moved closer to him and leaned into his side. “Emma, why’d you come over here?” He whispered.

“No reason! Can’t I just visit my professor?” She said, face turning red. He stared her down. “Fine… It’s Paul, and Jane, I guess. I love them both but I don’t know who to pick.”

“I’d pick Paul, but I’m gay and don’t know Jane at all,” He said, trying not to laugh at his joke. Emma didn’t laugh. 

“It’s not funny!” She whined. “I’m having a dilemma here!” He took her hand and rubbed his thumb across the back of hers while she snuggled into his chest. 

“It’s okay. You don’t have to pick right now and you know what’s best for you.” Emma and the professor sat together in silence. He broke the silence. “I think you can call me Henry now, you know.” 

“Can I keep calling you ‘Professor?’” She asked into his shoulder.

He sighed. “If you must. At this point, you’re pretty much allowed to call me anything.” 

She took the opportunity. “Thanks, dad,” She teased, falling asleep. 

“I love you, sweetie,” He whispered. 

When she woke up, Hidgens was gone. 

“Hello?” She drawled. 

“Emma? Are you okay?” He yelled, rushing to the living room. Emma noticed he was wearing the same turtleneck. It seems like all he owned were those turtlenecks.

“Yeah, I’m fine but I didn’t know where you were and I got scared.” He let out a sigh of relief. 

His hand flew up to his heart. “Oh, good. I was worried.” He turned on his heel to leave. 

“Where are you going?” She whined. He turned back to look at her. 

“To my roo—” He tried to explain, but was cut off. 

“Stay  _ heeere _ ,” She begged. He pulled her off of the couch.

“Paul’s waiting for you.” She groaned but left anyway. 

Opening the door, she whispered, “Paul, are you awake?” 

He pulled the covers off of himself and yawned. “Emma?” She pulled the blankets off him and wrapped them around herself. “Emma! I’m so cold,” He complained. 

“So am I, and I’m in charge of the blankets.” 

“But, Emma, I’m cold.”

“Paul, you never call me Emma!” She said, a kind of whine in her voice. 

“I know. And I know you like your nickname. So I won’t call you anything else until you give me the blanket,” He teased. He took the blanket from her but wrapped it around her and hugged her to keep himself warm. 

They relaxed with each other for about five minutes. “Paul?” 

Resting his head on her shoulder, he mumbled, “Hm?” 

She squeezed his hand. “Did Jane come back last night?” 

“Em, I don’t think she’s going to come back. Did you… didn’t you notice her ring?” 

Emma’s face dropped. “What ring?”

“Well when you woke me up, she was leaving and I saw her ring. I think she’s married. You didn’t propose, did you?” 

“God, no. I won’t be ready for that for awhile since... everything... happened pretty recently. I don’t think I want to be with her anymore, because well, that’s illegal, but she’s not a good person.” He should’ve been sad, but when he hugged her, he grinned, hidden from her sight.

***

He rubbed his hand up and down her back, hoping to help her shaky breathing return to normal. “Em, it’s going to be okay. I’m here and I promise that I will always be here for you.” Emma slapped his arm. 

“You’re being too cheesy.” She wiped her eyes on Paul’s shoulder. “I love you, Paul.” Paul leaned over and kissed the top of her head. In response, she hugged him tighter and kissed his neck, having easy access. “I love you.” No response. “Paul, are you listening to me?” 

“Yeah.” He lifted his head. “Em?”

“Paul?” She said, attempting to show that she was paying attention. 

“You are driving me insane, Em.” She opened her mouth to interject, but he continues talking. “I can’t keep cuddling with you and holding you because I love you. I  _ want  _ to hold you and kiss you, but I know that I can’t and it’s hard to accept.” 

“Paul, are you delirious? Did you just say you love me?” Emma asked in wild disbelief. 

“Yes, I did. I’m in love with you,” He announced. 

“Paul, I know.  _ I  _ love  _ you. _ I said that twice already. Besides, you came into Beanies everyday and I know it wasn’t because of our coffee.” She grinned at him.

“But didn’t you like—?” She interrupted him by pulling him down by his tie and crashing her lips against his.

“Mr. Matthews, I have one question.” She put on an incredibly posh accent. “Why didn’t you kiss me while I was dying?” 

He put on the same accent, even though it was less put together. “Why Ms. Perkins, you were most certainly out of your mind and I did not want to encourage you to do something you’d regret. Also, I regret to inform you that you were, in fact, not dying, instead heavily injured.” 

“I very much  _ was _ dying, for your information,” She argued. “We’re going on a date together tomorrow.” 

“Why?”

“Because I want to date you, you want to date me, and I want to eat food tomorrow!” 

“Alright, fair enough.” He was going hug Emma, but instead opted to kiss her again.

“Enough with the affection already, Matthews.” She whacked him with a pillow. 

“Oh,  _ that’s  _ how we’re doing this, Perkins?” He shouted, grabbing a pillow of his own. 

“You bet it is!” She jumped off of the couch and held her pillow in front of her as if it were a shield. He ran towards her to attempt to knock the pillow out of her hands. She grunted and ended up smacking him with her hand. “Sorry not sorry! You asked for it!” 

Emma dove onto the couch and curled into herself as a defense system. This, however, didn’t work because Paul tickled her waist and she let go of her pillow, laughing. She held her hands up in surrender.

“Paul!” She giggled. “Stop! Okay, okay, I give up.” She attempted to squeak out through her laughter. He towered over her and leaned down to kiss her on the nose. “Ugh, Matthews, didn’t I say enough with the affection?” 

“Maybe you did, but I’m afraid that I don’t care.” He grinned at her and she pushed him away. “Stop pushing me.”

“No.” She stuck her nose in the air. He stayed silent but gave her a pleading look. “Mmm, okay,” She moved her legs to make room for him to sit down. Leaning into his side, she let her head rest on his shoulder and she relaxed into him. 

“I love you, Em.”

“I know, Paul.” She laughed. 

“I know you do, but it feels so good to say it. Like, I love you, and  _ you _ love  _ me. _ That’s the part I can’t believe.” He kissed her forehead multiple times. 

“Well, I do. Now stop. I don’t want to say it anymore.” 

“Aw, fine,” He whined. “Emma, I’m tired.”

“You did it again!” But he was asleep. She could see the rays of the dim light shining on his face. She tried to wriggle herself out from under him, but it didn’t work. “Oh, alright.” She pressed a light kiss to his neck, and fell asleep. 


	7. Coffee Shop

A few days after Paul came home, Emma received a text from Melissa. Melissa started a group chat with all of the survivors and wanted to know if they all wanted to meet up. 

They agreed and decided to meet at a coffee shop. It just so happened to be the coffee shop that Emma worked at. They agreed to meet up at the end of Emma’s shift so she could get out of work and hang out with them. 

“Hey guys!” Emma happily greeted at the sight of her friends walking through the door. 

“Emma!” Melissa squealed. 

“Melissa, oh, it is so great to see you again!” Emma responded, drawing attention from some of the customers. “I’m about to finish my shift now, so I’ll whip up your coffee and then I’ll head over to your table,” She explained. “What do you guys want? Wait! Paul, black coffee, Ted, chai iced tea, Bill, a caramel frappe, Char, you don’t like coffee, and Professor,” She looked at him pointedly, “You’ll have a blueberry scone. Mel, I’ve never served you before.” 

Paul looked absolutely bewildered. “Em, that’s exactly right, how do you remember all of that?” 

She shrugged. “Black tea for me, please,” Melissa piped up. 

Emma smiled at all of them and began making their orders while the six people made their way over to a table that would seat all of them.

Emma returned, placed all of their coffees, teas, and pastries on the table in front of each person, then took off her apron and sat down in between Paul and Melissa. 

“I missed you guys,” Ted admitted. 

“While we appreciate the sentiment, how’s that possible?” Emma asked him.

“During isolation I missed you guys. Y’ know, when I started to think again.” 

Charlotte became aware of Paul and Emma cuddling in front of her and decided to inquire about it. “Wait, so, are you two together?” Emma looked up at Paul to give him a, ‘Should we tell them,’ look, and he nodded. 

“Yeah, we are…” Charlotte’s face broke into a smile along with the professor’s, Bill’s, and Melissa’s. 

“You made a good choice, Emma,” Hidgens laughed.

“I didn’t have another option. Jane was married,” She explained. Hidgens did a double take. 

“And you didn’t notice?” She held her hands up and laughed. 

“It’s really great to see you all,” Melissa said. 

“How’s everyone holding up?” Charlotte asked. 

They all shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Paul was the first one to speak up. “It’s nice to be alive. It’s nice to see you all. I just feel weird. I haven’t been myself for a few months.” 

The others, excluding Paul and Emma, nodded in agreement. 

“That’s exactly how it feels,” Bill agreed. 

Hidgens poked at the scone Emma had insisted that he should eat. “I’m still getting used to having to sleep and eat everyday.”

Emma scoffed. “You didn’t do either of those things before I made you.” He sunk back in his seat. 

“I’m so glad you guys are safe,” Emma smiled.

Ted laughed. “I’m glad Hidgens is so paranoid.” 

“I’m prepared, not paranoid.” He pouted. Emma laughed and Ted gave him a look. 

“Get a room,” Bill joked. 

“We have one.” Ted snapped back. 

The group collectively rolled their eyes and sighed. 


	8. Home Sweet Home

Emma and Paul shared their home.

Ted and Henry shared their house.

Bill and Alice shared a house.

Melissa and Charlotte shared a home.

They all were at the happiest point in their lives. Emma and Paul were happy and in love as were Ted and Henry. 

Then things got messy. Emma was on her managers nerves and was close to being fired. Paul still hadn’t found another job. Hidgens was always tired and constantly working in the lab he’d turned his room into. 

Bill was trying to find a school for Alice. Alice was worried to be away from her dad again. 

They would normally try to get together at least once every month but everyone always seemed to be busy. 

Soon, they decided that it was necessary because there were too many couples to keep up with so it needed to get sorted out.

Bill volunteered to make coffee for the others. Emma ended up helping him because he didn’t understand how her coffee machine worked.

Ted and the professor were chattering about the working boys on the couch. Next to them sat Paul, waiting for Emma to get back. 

Melissa smacked her hand down on Emma and Paul’s coffee table. “Okay! Pay attention! I need to know who’s dating who.” 

Henry counted on his fingers. “Paul and Emma, Alice and Deb, Char and you, and Bill and someone named Jane Fisher.” 

“Uh, Bill, Jane Fisher’s my ex.” Emma said, taking her seat in between Paul and Henry. “I think she’s married.” 

Bill’s face turned to one of despair. He buried his head in his hands. Emma pitied him, but Jane was a horrible human. 

“Aw, Bill…” Paul said. “If it makes you feel any better, tomorrow is bro’s night.”

“No girls!” Emma exclaimed. They all stared at her as if she were insane. “Jeez, okay, I’m allowed to be angry with my ex.” 

Melissa shrugged, “Girl, you deserved better.” 

“Emma literally always deserves better,” Hidgens said as he wrapped his arm around Emma’s shoulder and she snuggled into his chest. 

Paul stared at Hidgens and waited for him to realize the offense in the statement. 

“Oh, sorry, son.” He laughed. 

Ted looked at Henry and Emma in jealousy. “Are we swapping partners today or something?” 

“No, Henry’s just my dad.” He kissed the top of her head as she grabbed his hand. 

“Dearest, I haven’t adopted you yet.” 

She giggled. “What? Are you gonna adopt me?” She joked.

“I wanted to. And then you left for Guatemala.” He looked like he was about to tear up. “Y’know, I thought I was never going to get to see you again. I honestly believed that you were going to let me die alone.” 

“Oh, please.” Scoffing, she lightly punched his chest. “You had Alexa.” 

“I love you more than Alexa.” 

“Aww…” The girls, and Bill, squealed. 

Paul looked heart broken. 

“Wait, no, Paul, I love you.” 

“You were actually going to adopt Emma?” Melissa asked, almost in disbelief. “She’s 30!” 

“She wasn’t 15 years ago.” Emma grinned at Hidgens. She looked happy, but her slightly turned down lips were the sign Hidgens needed. “Emma, if you’re okay with it, I can still legally adopt you.” 

“Seriously?” He nodded. “That’s amazing!”

“You guys have to do that!” Charlotte squealed.

Melissa raised her hand. “I’ll help you with the paperwork,” She volunteered.

“That would be lovely, dear.” 

Charlotte squeezed Melissa’s hand. “You know, the two of you are the perfect family and you guys are adorable.” 

“But Paul and Emma are cute, too.” Melissa noticed Paul’s jealous expression.

“Just one thing, promise me you’ll never date any of these guys. I don’t want any of them to be my parents.” 

“Em, are you gonna change your last name?” Bill asked, grimacing at the flavor of his coffee. 

“Maybe… but not to ‘Hidgens,’” She smiled. 

“Did you just… did you just propose to me?” Paul asked, grinning.

Her face dropped. “Not yet, Paul. Not quite yet.” 

On their monthly girls night, the girls had some questions for Emma. While the girls were rolling out their sleeping bags on Melissa and Charlottes floor in their teenage-like manner, all Alice and Zoey could think about was how badly wanted to know what they had missed. 

“Okay, now spill,” Zoey demanded. 

“Uh, I don’t want to spill anything on Mel’s couch, thanks. I’d rather not get kicked out of girls night,” Emma laughed. 

“Ugh, Emma! You’re so old. What she means is you need to spill the tea.” Melissa hit Emma with her pillow. “Like, spill the beans?” 

“Huh?” 

“Tell us about your boyfriend!” Alice shouted. “Please?” Emma could almost see how desperate for information they all were. 

“Mmm… no.” 

Charlotte tried asking this time. “You don’t have to if you don’t feel like it, but we’d really like it if you did.”

“Oh, all right, but just because Char asked. First, Ally, c’mere.”

Alice smiled. “Did Uncle Paul tell you about my nickname?” Emma gently pulled Alice’s hair back and brushed it with her fingers.

“ _ Uncle _ Paul?” Emma raised her eyebrows, braiding Alice’s hair.

“I’ll explain some other day. So, boyfriend. My godfather is dating you after two years of pining!” 

“ _ Two years? _ You can’t be serious!” Charlotte's eyes widened in amusement.

“I’m not joking! He’d stare at you all the time and constantly talk about how he’d slip you five dollars because you were just so gorgeous--” 

“Hey, Ally, you can stop now.” 

“Where are you at with Paul?” Melissa asked, stroking her fingers up and down Charlotte’s arm. 

“I know it’s fast, but… I want to propose, what do you guys think?” Emma asked, twisting her hair around her fingers. 

“Maybe go out on a few dates, but he’s so in love with you,” Charlotte said, absentmindedly combing her fingers through Melissa’s hair. 

Alice spoke up, “Emma, you two are so good for eachother. Don’t tell him I told you but Uncle Paul was kind of depressed but he met you and…” 

Emma became instantaneously breathless. “I have to propose.” 

Emma stormed into the apartment from work. “Paul, we’re going on a date in an hour so get ready.” 

“Em, you need to give me at least a day’s worth of notice before taking me out,” Paul groaned, but greeted her at the door and kissed her cheek.    
“But tonight’s really important!” She whined. 

Little did he know, tonight would soon be one of the most important nights of their lives. 

The date they went on was their favorite. The couple went to the Beanies in Clivesdale, which Paul questioned since Emma worked at another coffee shop. 

They bantered and joked around, and ended up playing a few rounds of, ‘Who’s most likely to…?’

Paul picked, “Who’s most likely to cheat on their partner?”

Emma had a list of answers. “Ted, Jane, Sam, Zoey.” 

“Those are all entirely accurate and I’ve never agreed—.” 

“I love you, Paul,” Emma blurted. He looked confused, but he was surely giving her the same googly eyes that she was giving him. “Hey, Paul? I can’t do the whole kneeling thing because I’m wearing a dress and in a coffee shop, but...” She pulled a box out of her coat and opened it, whispering the final words that would make Paul cry. “Paul Matthews, will you marry me?” 

“Em… are you actually proposing to me? With a ring pop?” He choked out. 

“You think I can afford a real ring? Who do you think I am? Yes, I just proposed to you with a ring pop,” She answered, sarcastically. “Now are we getting married or not?”

“Oddly enough, that makes me want to marry you even more,” He said, grabbing her hand over the table. 

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Emma Perkins.” 


	9. Would you?

Emma sipped her tea. “Hey, dad? Could you do something for me?” 

“Anything,” They grinned, knowing what he was going to say next. “Anything for my  _ legal  _ daughter.” 

She twisted the ring around her finger and laughed. “So, as you know, Paul and I are getting married so could you… would you… could you maybe walk me down the aisle?’

He leaned over and started to sob. “You—” He sputtered. “Me? Me, walk… you?” She smiled and rubbed her fingers over his bony hand. 

“Who else would I want?” She laughed. Soon, she was tearing up as well. “So, it’s a yes?” 

“Of course it’s a yes!” He cried. 

She pulled him up from the table and hugged him. “How am I supposed to dance with you? You’re gonna be the most talented one there.”

“While I appreciate the compliment, the ways of the dancer can be taught.” 

She laughed and took his hands. “Thank you.”

He laughed and shook with excitement. “I know you told us all, but I’m still so excited for your wedding! It feels like I just got the news.”

“I can’t wait.” 


	10. Wedding Bells, They Are Clanging

Melissa pulled back Emma’s hair into a braid and applied the final touch ups to her makeup.

Emma strapped on the gold belt that accented her simple, white dress. “Woah, this is happening. I’m marrying Paul  _ today. _ ”    
“And you look great. Paul’s a very lucky man. Thanks for letting me help you plan your wedding,” She added. 

“Mel, I’m nervous.” 

“I know, and that’s fine because you should be. Just know, we’re all going to be out there cheering for you.” Emma smiled at that. 

“Okay.” She breathed out sharply. “Okay, I’m gonna do this and I’m going to marry Paul, wow.”

Meanwhile, Paul was wiping his sweaty hands on his suit jacket, grimacing at how nervous he was getting. He felt a sturdy hand on his shoulder. He looked up and Hidgens was looking back down at him. 

“You’ll be alright, you know? Emma really does love you.” Paul still looked uneasy, but he nodded all the same. “I’m going to go greet the guests.” 

“Alright, thank you.” 

Soon, the guests had all arrived and they were seated.

Paul and Joe walked down the aisle in silence. The room collectively drew in a breath. Paul’s mother was already sobbing into her tissue, while his father attempted to calm her down. 

Music began to play, Bill and Ted came down the aisle and took their places next to Paul.

Bill was grinning ear to ear and Ted wore a wide smirk. 

Deb, Alice, Zoey, Charlotte, Melissa and Nora stepped down the aisle, carefully, since none of them were quite used to wearing heels. 

“Let’s go,” Hidgens whispered to Emma, who was quivering. They walked down the aisle as new music began to play. 

Paul’s hand flew up to cover his mouth at his first sight of Emma. 

The audience became breathless. Most of Emma’s distant family was appalled at the idea of Emma in a dress. 

Hidgens almost tripped over his own foot since his eyesight became blurry through the tears swimming in his eyes. Emma giggled and murmured, “Some dancer you are.” 

Her light, soft, robe-like dress swayed with each step she took in her two inch heels. 

Finally, the pair arrived at the altar. Hidgens took her hand and offered it to Paul. He sat back down and put his head in his hands. Emma turned to look at him, pressing her lips into a small smile. 

“Paul, I know you want this wedding to be as traditional as possible, but you and I have the least traditional lives out of everyone. You got me in a dress, so at least be glad I’m not wearing a t-shirt. I am, as you know, the least affectionate person on the planet. I don’t want to get too mushy, but I like you.” The audience laughed. “Well, obviously, but… you’re very sweet and nice and I just love you. You’re so awkward but you’re my best friend, and I truly believe that we were meant to be together,” Emma finished, seeing the tears welling up in Paul’s eyes. 

“I-- wow, okay, I-- oh, shoot. I was going to say something funny.” The audience chuckled. “Um, Emma, you are a great person and I think you’re just pretty awesome. You’re very independent but I’m glad to be your partner in any challenge that faces us. You’re the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. Jeez, I don’t even know what to say anymore, but I love you, Emma.” 

They stared at each other in deafening silence with the only sound heard was the professor and Paul’s mother sobbing. 

At this point in the wedding, Emma had spaced out and the next thing she knew she was saying, “I do,” and being dipped. 

Applause rang through her ears and she stood up. “Sorry, I spaced out, what happened?”

“Emma Perkins, you spaced out at your own wedding? I’m shocked,” He said, with a grain of sarcasm. 

“Um, Paul? That’s not my name anymore.” 

His face scrunched up, confused. Paul grinned once he realized exactly what Emma was talking about. “Fine. Emma Perkins- _ Matthews,  _ you spaced out at your own wedding?” 

Emma’s laugh bounced off the wall, echoing throughout the church. 

“May I present to you,” Joe began, “For the first time as a married couple, Mr. and Mrs. Perkins-Matthews.” Emma was unable to contain her joy as she and Paul walked back up the aisle. 

Ted stepped forwards with Zoey and they walked back up the aisle. Melissa and Charlotte went up next, then Deb and Alice, and finally, Bill and Nora. 

Hidgens and Paul’s parents joined Emma and Paul while the guests gathered into their receiving line.

Congratulations were given and the guests made their way to the back of the church for the reception. 

The families, bridesmaids, and groomsmen got pictures taken in every combination and pose they thought possible. Soon enough, Melissa had Charlotte on her back, which sent them toppling to the ground. 

The professor sat on the ground preparing to get up to dance. 

Emma stood off to the side, watching him stress, and waiting to dance. 

Hidgens stood up and offered her his hand, which she took. Neither one knew what song would play, but it made them both tear up.

They swayed slowly to the music until it ended. “What happened to you busting out your world class dance moves?” Emma teased. 

“Those are for later,” He laughed, dropping her hands. 

Now Paul asked for her hand. She smiled and took it. Paul was shocked when an upbeat song began to play. 

Paul attempted to dance along, but he failed miserably. 

Once their dance was over, the floor opened up to the guests. 

Emma joined her bridesmaids on the dance floor after changing into flats. 

Paul stood off to the side with Bill and Ted until a song from Mamma Mia began to play. Bill pushed through the crowd to start dancing, shoving over multiple people in the process. 

The guests danced and danced, Hidgens stole the show many times, and Paul danced to exactly one song throughout the whole night. 

Paul chose to catch up with his family even though they relentlessly bombarded him with questions about Emma. 

Next came dinner. Emma ate the most she could. Paul had a respectable amount, and Hidgens tried to get away with eating nothing. 

Emma smoothed out her skirt, stood up, took Hidgens’ plate and put some food on it. 

“We both know you haven’t eaten since I made you.” He sighed, but knew she was right. “Don’t make me feed you.” It was a joke, he could tell by the smile tugging on her face, but he didn’t doubt that she’d do it if he refused to eat. 

Picking at the food on his plate, the rest of the guests finished their food. 

“That’s… better.” She looked at the food on his plate. 

The attention turned to the cake, coffee flavored for Paul and Emma’s first meeting.

Paul showed tension at handing Emma a knife, but she let him guide it, and they were safe.

Paul tried to feed Emma a piece of cake, but she beat him to it and smashed some on his face. 

He wanted to throw some back, but the wedding had already cost too much for them to waste food. 

The guests ate and laughed, and soon, the night was done. 

The couple said goodbye to their guests and drove home together. 

Once they were home, Emma swiftly changed from her comfy dress to her even more comfortable pajamas. She went to bed while Paul made his hibiscus tea, something that Emma always teased him for. 

She was almost asleep, but a knock at her door tore her from sleep. “Emma, are you up?” 

She reluctantly threw off the covers. “What is it, husband?” 

He laughed. “Are you excited for tomorrow?” 

Yawning, she said, “Yeah, but I won’t be if you don’t let me get any sleep.” 

He crawled into the bed next to her and pulled her against his chest. Emma shut her eyes and was almost immediately taken away by sleep. 

She didn’t remember what she dreamt about that night, but the first time Emma slept as a married woman, she felt better than ever. 

“Ready?” Paul asked as they drove to the airport. 

“To go back to Guatemala? Um, duh! I miss it.” Emma pumped her fist into the air. 

Paul leaned over to give her a quick kiss, but he leaned too far, and the car swerved, crashing into a large tree on the side of the road. 

“Emma!” Paul shouted, but she didn’t hear, for she had blacked out. 


	11. Alternate Ending + Q & A

“Jane, we gotta go!” Emma yelled. 

“But I have to wait for the babysitter to get here,” Jane said, poking her head around into the kitchen. 

“Well, alright but at least get the kids lunch.” Emma sighed, tearing apart the house, still missing her keys. 

“Let’s go, hun.” Jane entered through the door with Emma’s keys. 

Emma frowned. “Of course you had them.” The knock on their front door told them that the babysitter was there.

“Hello, our numbers are on the fridge, they’ve had their lunch, and we’ll be back by 5, thank you so much!” Jane greeted the babysitter, Taylor. She wrapped her favorite red scarf around her neck and Emma followed her out the door. 

The pair was going out to see a movie. “A nice,  _ silent, _ movie,” according to Emma. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Q: Where did you grow up?

A: In Hatchetfield. I hated it there even as a kid. My sister and I would always try to swim to Clivesdale but we always got sore. 

Q: How would you describe your family?

A: Dysfunctional and unfair, I guess.

Q: Did you have a happy childhood?

A: Uh, no, not really. I don’t want to elaborate, thank you.

Q: Are your parents alive? What kind of relationship did you have with them?

A: Uh, I don’t know if my parents are alive, actually. I didn’t have a great relationship with them for awhile and I don’t know why they didn’t like me.

Q: If you have siblings, are you close?

A: We used to be. Then I moved to Guatemala and she died in a car crash on her way to the airport to visit me.

Q: If you don’t already, would you like children of your own some day? 

A: Paul and I have talked about it, we’re still thinking about it. Paul’s always wanted kids and so have I but I’m scared that I’ll be a horrible mother.

Q: Of all of your memories, which stands out the clearest?   
A: Probably when I was involved in an apocalypse. More specifically, when Paul came into Beanies and pretty much went insane. 

Q: As a child, what were you most likely to be found doing?

A: I loved to dance when I was little. I’m terrible at it now, and I’m nowhere near flexible anymore. So, I’ll go with dancing.

Q: When you were young, what did you dream your future would be like?

A: I always focused on the present, never on the future so I didn’t really think about it.

Q: What kind of education did you receive?

A: Just somewhere in Hatchetfield. I think we had one school for elementary, one for middle school, and two high schools.

Q: What did you want to be when you grew up?

A: Happy. 

Q: Are you an optimist or a pessimist?

A: Paul will say I’m a pessimist, I’d say neither, Henry would try to only see the good parts in me and call me an optimist so I really don’t know.

Q: How do you deal with pressure and deadlines?

A: I was actually in college before the whole apocalypse thing. I also worked a lot of shifts to keep my mind off of things. I stayed up a lot of late nights and worked really hard. My biology professor would sometimes extend the due dates for me. 

Q: Be honest… are you easily influenced by others?

A: I don’t surround myself with other people unless they’re my really close friends, so I don’t think I am. 

Q: Would you ever tell a lie to get yourself out of trouble?   
A: Most certainly. Don’t ask me for details.

Q: Are there any circumstances in which you’d let somebody else be blamed for your actions?

A: No, but there were situations where I was blamed for something my sister did.

Q: Do you control your emotions or do they control you?

A: I think it kinda depends on the situation. Most of the time I’m in charge, but sometimes my emotions get the best of me. 

Q: You have to make a big decision. Do you listen to your head or your heart?

A: I think I’d listen to my head. 

Q: Can you keep a secret?

A: Uh… no. I’d love to think I could but I’m really not great at it.

Q: When you’re sad, what cheers you up?

A: Well, my friends and I live in the same apartment building and I live with Paul, so them.

Q: If you were to describe yourself in three words, what would they be?

A: Um, feisty, stubborn, and independent. 

Q: Would you describe yourself as an introvert or an extrovert?

A: Extrovert. I love talking to new people, and I get excited since I was alone for about ten years.

Q: Is trust something that comes easily to you?   
A: Definitely not. 

Q: Would you rather have a hundred casual friends or just one truly devoted friend?   
A: I think one devoted friend.

Q: What kind of people do you value more: those who are loyal to you or those who are useful to you? 

A: Obviously the loyal people.

Q: Do you find it easy to make friends?   
A: Yeah, sure.

Q: How do you choose who you spend your time with? 

A: We all live really close to each other, so it’s always pretty much whoever isn’t at work.

Q: Who is the most important person in your life?   
A: Either Paul or Henry. Probably Henry.

Q: If you were in desperate need, who would you turn to?

A: Henry for sure.

Q: If you disappeared, who would miss you?

A: Paul, Melissa, Henry, Charlotte, maybe Ted, Bill and I think that’s it.

Q: Have you ever lost someone important to you?

A: I lost my sister and for a little while I lost Paul and Henry and Melissa and Bill and Charlotte.

Q: Who was your first kiss?

A: I think her name was Hannah Chastity. 

Q: Have you ever been in love?

A: I was but it turns out that she was married and I didn’t know. But I do love Paul. Don’t tell him though. 

Q: Aren’t you guys engaged?

A: Oh, well… we are… whoops. 

Q: Have you ever felt truly loved by someone else?

A: Yeah. If we’re not counting relationship type love it would be Henry. He’s like my dad. If we are counting relationship love it’s Paul. 

Q: How do you show someone you care for them?

A: I tease them. 

Q: Is there anyone you would willingly give your life for?

A: Can we move on? There are too many people but that’s what happened… 

Q: When someone wrongs you, do you respond with revenge or forgiveness?

A: Revenge. 

Q: Would you say you have any enemies?

A: Uh, no. They’re all dead. 

Q: What are you most afraid of?

A: When Bill, Henry, and Paul are angry. It doesn’t happen often but it’s scary when it does. 

Q: What would make you happiest: Wealth, power, peace, or love? 

A: Peace.

Q: Would you rather lead or follow?

A: Um, probably lead. I don’t like not being in control.

Q: When you were young, were you considered plain, ugly or beautiful?

A: By other people, I was considered plain.

Q: Did your social status change during your childhood? 

A: Uh, yeah.

Q: How old were you when this happened? 

A: I was about 13.

Q: How did it change?

A: I used to be pretty outgoing, then I got really shy and stopped talking for a while. I’m different now, obviously, but for a long time, I spoke to no one.

Q: Who did you love the most when you were young?

A: When I was really little it was my sister. I looked up to her a lot.

Q: What’s your sister’s name and is she older or younger?

A: My sister’s name was Jane and she was 3 years older than me. 

Q: What are the five most important things that happened in your life?

A: Working at Beanies and meeting Paul, meeting Henry, the apocalypse, I guess, um… I guess getting rid of Jane, and being in a helicopter crash. I have a pretty normal life.

Q: What are your hobbies?

A: I really like to bake. You wouldn’t know it from the horrible pastries at Beanies but I’m pretty good at it.

Q: Did you do well at school?

A: I’m doing better in college than I did in high school but overall, yeah, I’d say so.

Q: How do you think your teachers saw you?

A: Well I know Henry loves me. My other teachers are really stone faced and emotionless so I’m not sure. I don’t know if the teachers like any of us.

Q: What’s your greatest fear?

A: Losing the people I care about and being alone.

Q: When you were a teenager, who were your friends and love interests?

A: Uh, this is going to sound sad, but I didn’t have any friends. I did have two boyfriends and one girlfriend in my high school years. I think they’re all dead.

Q: Who did you love most during your teenage years?   
A: Definitely Henry. He was so nice to me. 

\--Relationship Questions--

Q: What is the other’s weird habit? 

P: Emma’s weird habit is she has a day every month where she eats chocolate obsessively. 

E: Paul’s weird habit is that he’ll try to cook something but he forgets to put in half of the ingredients.

Q: Which is your favorite date?

E: My favorite date was when we went to see a horror movie. Paul was screaming the whole time and I spent the movie laughing at him. 

P: I just liked eating the ring pop you proposed to me with. 

E: Ew, you ate that?

Q: What is the other person’s favorite season?

E: Season 3!

P: Summer. She loves bonfires and fireworks and those are the only reasons why she like summer.

E: OH! It’s Autumn. I knew that.

Q: Would you like to meet each other’s parents? 

P: No.

E: I’ve met yours and you’ve met mine. 

P: What?

E: Henry. Henry’s my dad. Well not my biological dad but I’m sort of adopted. 

Q: What is your partners’ shoe size?

E: Um, I don’t understand men’s sizes. 

P: Six or seven? I think, maybe? 

Q: What is the first thing you said to each other? 

E: I probably said something like, “Hi, can I help you?” Since we met at Beanies. 

P: And I probably said, “Just a cup of black coffee, please.” 

Q: What grade was the other when they had their first kiss? 

P: Yours was in your sophomore year of high school. 

E: Yours was me. You were out of school. Cause it was  _ meeeeee _ . 

Q: Who said “I love you” first?   
P: Emma. 

E: Me. 

Q: Paul, what was Emma wearing on your first date? 

P: What counts as our first date? 

E: The one after you came back to life. 

P: Um, I don’t remember that. Was it your work uniform?

Q: Emma, what was the actual date of your first date?

E: Easy. November 6th. My birthday.

Q: Paul, have you ever lied to Emma?

P: Um, yes. 

E: _ Paul!  _

P: Relax, it was just for your birthday. 

E: Sure.

P: You love me anyway.

E: Maybe I don’t.

Q: Have you ever read a book together?

P: I tried to read  _ to  _ her and she punched me. She won’t even let me read her the newspaper!

E: I thought you stopped buying the newspaper because we couldn’t afford it.

P: Well…

E: We’re going to have a talk later. 

Q: How many kids do you guys want?

E: We’ve talked. 

P: I don’t think we’re ready for kids yet, but if we ever are ready, I think only one or two. 


End file.
